Asian Longhorned Beetle.
In August of 2012, Joe Russell, TJ Nagel and José Fernández were able to make
the trip down to Cincinnati to hear Joe Boggs,
entomologist and OSU Extension Educator in the Cincinnati area, give a
talk on Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB).
Following are some quick facts from lecture notes and from www.beetlebusters.info presented as FAQs:
1.
Where does
ALB come from, and is it in Ohio?
ALB is native to eastern Asia, specifically
to China and the Koreas. Interestingly,
it was introduced to Japan, but was successfully eradicated.
ALB was first reported in Ohio on June 17th,
2011 in southwestern Ohio, Clermont County.
Based on DNA testing, this infestation came from Asia, and is unrelated
to other infestations in the United States.
We do not know how it came to Ohio.
2.
How long
has ALB been in North America?
ALB has been in North America since 1996,
where it was discovered in Brooklyn, NY.
3.
What areas
are quarantined in Ohio, and what does this mean?
Regulated materials, including firewood,
stumps, roots, branches, debris and other material –living, dead, cut, or
fallen- from all hardwood species, nursery stock and logs of ALB host trees
cannot be moved out of a regulated (quarantined) area. The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has
established three regulated areas within Clermont County and will continue to
update the status of these areas as needed.
4.
What trees
are at risk?
Very good hosts, in order of pest favor,
are all maples, horse chestnut, elm, and willow. However, the beetle will attack 13 different
genera of trees, including all species within the genera. Some other common trees that are vulnerable
are birch, sycamore, poplar, mimosa, and hackberry.
5.
General
eradication (at the forest level) of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was a goal that proved to be expensive and sometimes unachievable. How can we say
ALB can be contained and eradicated?
EAB and ALB are very different beetles,
both in their rate of reproduction, ability or desire to spread and feeding
habits, among other things. To be considered
eradicated, no beetles can be found within a period of three years in a zone
that was previously infested. This
requirement has been met in Chicago, IL, Hudson County, NJ, and Islip, NY. Currently, there are other locations in NY
and NJ that are undergoing eradication, as well as Massachusetts and Ohio.
As for EAB, eradication on a large scale is
not practical, but there are several proven methods that arborists use to
successfully protect individual Ash trees from infestation, even where pest
pressure is very high.
6.
What does
the beetle look like? What do I do if I
think I found one?
I found the Chinese name for ALB to be a
good way to remember how it looks. In
China, ALB is called “Starry Night Beetle”, because it is black with irregular
white spots on its back. It has very
long, black and white banded antennae, and is a large beetle, measuring 1 to 1
½ inches long. Another way to spot the
beetle is by their activity. Look for
perfectly round, nearly dime-sized exit holes in trees, with noticeable amounts
of sawdust (frass) built up on the limbs or on the ground. Limbs weakened by the large exit holes can
break readily in a windstorm as well.
If you spot one, call Russell Tree Experts
for one of our arborists to come out and make an inspection, or go to
beetlebusters.info for more information.
7.
Can ALB be
controlled without destroying the tree?
Due to lack of space, I cannot go into
details here. It may be controlled, but
there is difficulty due to the different feeding habits in each developmental
stage. Currently, a tree found with ALB
will be cut down and destroyed. The
beetle is considered to be one of the most destructive and costly invasive
species ever to enter the United States.
Forest Service Report to congress:
APHIS Fact Sheet:
This was quite helpful. I have some trees that are starting to have some problems and I wasn't sure if it was time to remove them. It seems like its time to call a local tree removal company like Arbor Care.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ron, but as far as I know Asian Longhorned Beetle has not been an issue in Western Canada.
DeleteKeep your eyes peeled.