- What is an Asian longhorned beetle?
- Why should the United States be concerned about the ALB?
- How did the beetle get here?
- What is being done to prevent further infestations from occurring?
- Where has the ALB been found in the United States?
- What is a quarantine zone?
- What are considerations for working and living in a quarantine zone?
- Why shouldn’t I move firewood?
- What can homeowners do to prevent ALB from attacking their trees?
- How does APHIS survey for these pests?
- Is there an effective treatment to control or destroy these pests?
- What insecticide is used?
- Can we really get rid of the ALB?
Q. What is an Asian longhorned beetle?
A. The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) is a large, bullet-shaped beetle about 1 inch to 1.5 inches long. Shiny and black with white spots, it has exceptionally long antennae that are banded with black and white. The elongated feet are black with a whitish-blue upper surface. Although its size and large mandibles make it appear threatening, the beetle is harmless to humans and pets. In the larval stage, the white worm-like beetle bores into live trees, causing sap to flow from wounds and frass (looks like wood shavings) to accumulate at the base of the tree. Left undetected, the ALB will eventually cause the tree to wither and die.
Q. Why should the United States be concerned about the ALB?
A. The ALB is a serious threat to U.S. trees. ALB larvae bore deep into deciduous hardwood trees such as maple, elm, birch, horsechestnut, poplar, willow and ash, eventually killing them. Click here for a full list of host trees. Damage from infestations in Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts has resulted in the removal of tens of thousands of trees. This invasive insect has also cost State and Federal governments hundreds of millions of dollars. If ALB were to spread, it has the potential to wreak havoc nationwide. ALB infestations could cause multi-billion dollar losses in industries such as lumber, maple syrup, nursery and tourism. They also destroy wildlife habitats and disrupt the ecosystem. Finally, they ruin yards and neighborhoods by killing the trees that make them beautiful.
Q. How did the beetle get here?
A. The ALB, which is primarily found in China and areas of Korea and Japan, probably hitchhiked here in solid wood packing material, which accompanies commodities moving into the United States. U.S. trade with China has increased exponentially over the past decade. As a result, the risk of this beetle as well as other invasive insects, plant diseases, and weeds being introduced to the United States has increased as well.
Q. What is being done to prevent further infestations from occurring?
A. APHIS analyzes all threats to U.S. agriculture and develops rules for importing commodities based on the risks they present. In 1998, APHIS published an interim rule requiring that all solid wood packing material from China be completely free of bark and live plant pests and be treated with either preservatives, heat, or fumigation prior to arrival in the United States. Effective 2005, all wooden packaging materials imported into the United States from all countries must be heat treated or fumigated.
APHIS also provides Department of Homeland Security inspectors at U.S. ports of entry with pest alerts, outreach materials and training to increase vigilance during inspections. All international passenger baggage, cargo, packages, mail and conveyances are subject to inspection upon entry into the United States. APHIS has worked to heighten awareness of ALB during these inspections. While the tremendous amount of volume of imported cargo makes it impossible to visually inspect every shipped item, the majority of solid wood packing material is in compliance with current regulations. When non-compliant material is identified, it is immediately quarantined and promptly shipped back to the exporting country until compliance has been met. If infested material is found, in most cases, the infested material must be separated from the imported products and destroyed. When ALB is found in cargo at a point of entry, APHIS identifies the cargo shipment’s intended destination, and officials inspect the storage facility and previous shipments that may been imported from the same area.
Q. Where has the ALB been found in the United States?
A. Active infestations are currently in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Ohio. The infestation in Illinois was eradicated in 2008, as were infestations in Hudson County, New Jersey, and infestations in Islip, New York were eradicated in 2011. Beetles have also been found in warehouses associated with imported cargo from China and other countries that are native to the ALB. In these cases, they were immediately destroyed. Click here for a complete map of quarantine zones and at-risk areas due to proximity to quarantined areas and warehouse finds.
Q. What is a quarantine zone?
A. Infested areas are quarantined to contain the movement of the beetle and host materials (e.g. firewood, nursery stock, wood debris, branches, logs, stumps, and lumber) in order to prevent the spread of the infestation through the movement of infested materials. Quarantine zones are regulated to reduce the chance of people unknowingly transporting the beetle. These regulations include restrictions on the movement and disposal of host materials.
Q. What are considerations for working and living in a quarantine zone?
A. Many businesses handle plants, nursery stock, tree limbs, branches or wood material that could contain the ALB, its larvae and eggs. In a quarantine zone, host materials must not move outside the quarantined area unless they are chipped to less than one inch in two dimensions.
In ALB regulated areas businesses may enter into a compliance agreement with the ALB project operating in their state. To enter into an agreement, individuals and businesses must successfully complete a training program on the proper handling and disposal of ALB host materials. If you would like to enter into a compliance agreement, please contact your states’ ALB project office.
If you live in a quarantine zone, there are lots of ways you can help stop the spread of the ALB:
If you live in a quarantine zone, there are lots of ways you can help stop the spread of the ALB:
- Regularly inspect the trees on your property for the ALB and signs of infestation. If you see either,
report it immediately. - Do not move any regulated material such as firewood, nursery stock, wood debris or lumber from host trees.
- Do not move firewood. Plan to buy your firewood where you’re going to burn it.
- Allow officials access to your property for inspection and, if necessary, eradication work such as chemical treatment and tree removal.
- Move brush, leaves and twigs of regulated materials that are greater than ½ inch in diameter to approved disposal sites. Call your local ALB program for a disposal site near you or for directions on how to dispose of host material.
- Don’t plant host trees.
Q. Why shouldn’t I move firewood?
A. People can unknowingly transport the beetle hundreds of miles in firewood. Cutting a tree into firewood does not kill all ALB developing inside it. Adult beetles can still emerge. The best approach is to burn firewood where you buy it. And definitely don’t move wood out of quarantine zones. In fact, many state parks will not let people bring their own firewood. It will be confiscated and burned immediately.
Q. What can homeowners do to prevent ALB from attacking their trees?
A. Homeowners can assist officials in preventing infestations in the following ways:
- Allowing officials access to your property to survey trees and/or remove any infested or high-risk trees.
- When planting trees in quarantine zones, choose non-host trees.
- Adhere to regulations in quarantined zones regarding the movement of host material, firewood, and other wood products.
- Regularly inspect any host trees on your property for both the ALB and signs of infestation such as dime-sized (1/4” or larger) perfectly round exit holes, or excessive sawdust buildup near tree bases and branch crotches. Know the signs.
- If you see any sign of infestation, report it immediately.
Q. How does APHIS survey for these pests?
A. Federal and State inspectors visually inspect individual trees for beetles and signs of beetle damage. Using binoculars and climbers, inspectors search for exit holes, egg sites, piles of frass at the bases of trees and in the branch crotches, and sap leaking from wounds in the trees.
Q. Is there an effective treatment to control or destroy these pests?
A. When applied on an area-wide basis to susceptible, but not-known-to-be-infested host trees, treatment applications can reduce beetle populations as ALB feed on the leaves and twigs of treated trees and die. Treatments alone will not eliminate the pest, but can help contain the spread of ALB from currently infested areas and help protect non-infested trees. In order to optimize the effectiveness of chemical treatments within the treatment area, it is important to treat all host trees within the designated area.
As part of an eradication project, if treatment applications are implemented, APHIS will work with State and local cooperators to treat during spring months through either tree trunk or soil injections. Treatment applications will not save already infested trees. You can learn more about the use of treatment applications to eradicate the ALB by reading “Questions and Answers: Asian LonghornedBeetle Control Treatments.”
Q. What insecticide is used?
A. Several insecticides with the active ingredient, imidacloprid, are approved for use within the ALB treatment program.
Q. Can we really get rid of the ALB?
A. With proper treatment and eradication efforts, we can get rid of the ALB. The insect has been successfully eradicated from Illinois, Hudson County, New Jersey and Islip, New York.
See the strategic plan and emergency response guidelines that are used for eradicaiton.