TREE health authorities are urging people enjoying the Hampshire countryside to look out for two species of beetle.

The Asian Longhorn (pictured) and Citrus Longhorn Beetle represent a major threat to trees and shrubs if they become established in the UK.

To eliminate the possibility of the beetles setting up a base in the UK, the Government is taking a raft of measures to enforce a recent report of an in independent Tree Health Biosecurity Expert.

In particular they are asking workers at places which might have received deliveries from Asia of tree and shrub plants, and goods in wooden crates and packing, to be on the lookout for signs of the beetles, which are usually large, and black and white in colour.

The Government’s chief plant health officer, Martin Ward, said: “Government plant health services cannot do this work alone, and we need the public to act as our eyes and ears in gardens, parks, woodlands and workplaces to help us spot threats quickly before they become a problem.”