Partners in Massachusetts Agriculture Education
Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources
Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation
UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery and Forestry Program
Asian Longhorned Beetle in Massachusetts
The Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) was first discovered in the U. S. in New York City in 1996, and has been found since then in four other locations in New York, in New Jersey, Chicago and most recently in Worcester, Massachusetts and its surrounding communities. A major effort is underway to eradicate this destructive pest and prevent further infestations around this nation. The beetle travels to the U.S. from Asia on wood pallets and shipping crates, emerging from the discarded crates to infest healthy trees. It attacks maples and a variety of other hardwood trees, including: poplar, birch, horse chestnut, plane tree, elm and occasionally ash, hackberry, mountain-ash, and silk tree. The adult is .75 to 1.5 inches; the female lays eggs in depressions made in tree bark. The larva grows to be 2.4 inches, boring and tunneling within the trunks and branches, disrupting the sap flow which weakens and eventually kills the tree, within two to seven years.
This pest is considered a serious threat to the nursery, lumber, wood products, maple syrup and tourism industries. If established over a large area, it could also significantly disrupt the forest ecosystem. The Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation, Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources, and the City of Worcester are partnering with the U.S. Forest Service and USDA APHIS-PPQ to coordinate a management plan to eradicate this species in Massachusetts. The area has been surveyed to determine the extent. Infested trees are being removed and destroyed. Susceptible host trees will be treated to prevent further infestations. For more information, visit the USDA Forest Services at www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/ alb/ident_reporting/identifying.shtm.
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Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom
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