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Asian Longhorned Beetles Threaten Northeastern Forests
Endangered!
Maples Edge the Split Rock Tract, Essex County, New York Photo by Robert M. Davis
Copyright © Robert M. Davis 2008
The foliage in the Northeast in the fall of 2008 was spectacular, with maples in brilliant red and gold, but an infestation of Asian Longhorned Beetles threatens to put an end to these displays at some future date. The beetles devour hardwoods, and prefer maples. This past summer a resident of Worcester, Massachusetts, identified them in her backyard. As of October, they had invaded sixty-two square miles around Worcester, approximately thirty miles west of Boston. This is the fourth time that they are known to have entered the United States. Other incursions have occurred in New York City, Chicago, and New Jersey, where millions of dollars have been spent fighting them. Around Worcester at least 1800 trees will be felled and ground up after frost has killed the adult beetles. Presumably the beetles arrived in Worcester in wood from which a shipping crate had been constructed. If the infestation cannot be controlled, it will obviously change the character of the Northeast's hardwood and mixed forests.
Sources:
"Beetle Invasion Threatens New England Trees," Associated Press, October 22, 2008.
University of Vermont Entomology Research, "Asian Longhorned Beetle."
--posted October 23, 2008