This mural brings attention to the unfolding borer beetle crisis threatening Stellenbosch’s iconic trees. The Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (Euwallacea fornicatus), an ambrosia beetle native to Southeast Asia, arrived in South Africa in 2017 and has since spread across much of the country. Each female beetle carries a microscopic partner—Fusarium euwallaceae, a symbiotic fungus that feeds the beetle but can also disrupt a tree’s water transport, leading to dieback in certain species. Together they form part of a complex ecological system that, outside its native range, creates new and unforeseen imbalances.

The mural interprets this story not in opposition, but in understanding—acknowledging that even in crisis, nature’s systems are intricate and adaptive. It invites reflection on our role within these entanglements, and on how awareness and stewardship can guide more harmonious futures between human, insect, and tree.