The Asian Longhorned Beetle
THE PROBLEM:
The Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) poses a serious threat to hardwood trees. It kills trees by boring
into trunks and branches and has no known natural predator in the United States. If the beetle becomes established nationwide,
it could cause more damage than Dutch elm disease, chestnut blight, and the gypsy moth combined.
The Asian longhorned beetle probably arrived in New York from its native China via untreated packing crates and wooden
palettes. Infestations have been discovered in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Other infested areas include parts of Long
Island, Chicago, Jersey City, and Toronto, Canada.
THE SOLUTION:
Currently, the only effective means to control the Asian longhorned beetle is to remove infested trees and destroy them
through chipping and burning. The successful eradication of the beetle depends on early detection of infestation and rapid
tree removal.
City, State, and Federal agencies are working together to eradicate the Asian longhorned beetle from New York City. To
prevent further
spread of the insect to uninfested areas, the USDA and the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets have created quarantine
zones around infested areas to regulate the movement of wood.
SOME FACTS:
• Probably arrived in untreated wooden pallets used to ship goods from China.
• Attacks hardwood trees, including maples, birch, horsechestnut, poplar, willow, ash, and London planetrees.
• Infestations detected in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in August 1996; in Bayside, Queens in February 1999; in the Upper
East Side, Manhattan in August 1999; in the Lower East Side, Manhattan in June 2000; in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens
in July 2000; in Central Park, Manhattan in January 2002; and in Forest Park, Queens in March 2003.
• Adults usually stay on the trees from which they emerge, or they may disperse short distances to a new host tree
to feed and reproduce. • The beetle's lifespan is one year. Adult beetles are usually active from June to December.
• Eggs hatch in 10 to 15 days, and the larvae tunnel under the bark and into the wood where they eventually pupate.
How to tell if your tree is infested
Whether or not you have trees infested with the Asian longhorned beetle, all tree prunings from the quarantined boroughs
of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens must receive special handling. For this reason, you must call 3-1-1 to schedule chipping
of tree debris.
You can also inspect your trees for infestation by the Asian longhorned beetle. The United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) Forest Service has created the following list of things to look for:
• Adult beetles with 1 to 1 '/4 inch long bodies and 2-inch-long antennae. Their bodies are shiny black with white
spots, and their antennae have bands of black and white.
Large ('/2 inch) round holes on the branches or the trunk, created when adult beetles emerge from the tree in the spring
and summer.
Round or oval pits in the bark (up to 1/2 inch in diameter), where females chew out a niche to lay their eggs,
Piles of sawdust accumulating at the base of trees or where branches meet the trunk, caused by beetles exiting from inside
the trees.
If you think you have found one of these beetles, call 1-877 STOP ALB (1-877-786-7252).
For more information:
