USDA Urges Residents to be on the Lookout for the Invasive Asian Longhorned Beetle

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is urging residents to search around hardwood trees in their community for signs of the invasive Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). Residents should report signs of beetle infestation to the ALB eradication program in their state, to the APHIS state plant health director or to their state department of agriculture. To find the APHIS state plant health director, log onto www.aphis.usda.gov and click “Report a Pest or Disease” in the blue box to the right of the homepage and click on the home state.

Beetles typically make their first appearances during the month of July and will continue to be present during August, September and even October.

Federal, state and local partners are working to eradicate active Asian longhorned beetle
infestations in portions of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. For maps detailing ALB
regulated areas by state, please log onto www.aphis.usda.gov and click on “Maps” in the blue
box to the right of the homepage. Residents of Illinois, north of Chicago, should also be on the
lookout for signs of ALB after detection of a single beetle in Deerfield, Ill., in August 2008.
Deerfield is outside of the former Chicago quarantine zone. Beetles could exist undetected in
other locations in the United States, including New England.

“July is the time of year when adult beetles are emerging from a winter spent growing
and developing deep inside the hardwood tree species they infest, so they are going to be easy to
spot if one knows what to look for,” said Christine Markham, national director of the Asian
longhorned beetle cooperative eradication program. “It is important that residents familiarize
themselves with signs of ALB infestation and monitor hardwood trees and surrounding areas for
this damaging invasive insect.”

The ALB adults are about 1 to 1.5 inches long, and have a shiny jet-black body with
distinctive white spots and long antennae banded in black and white. Adult beetles can be found
anywhere, including benches, car hoods, patio furniture, sides of houses, sidewalks etc. Place
any insect spotted in a jar and put the jar in a refrigerator or freezer. The ALB does not bite or
sting.

The ALB infests hardwood trees such as all species of maple, birch, horse chestnut, poplar, willow, elm and ash. Signs of an infestation, in addition to adult beetles, include: the
perfectly round, dime-sized (approximately 3/8 inch diameter) holes left by adult beetles exiting
a tree; sawdust-like material on the ground around the trunk or on tree limbs; yellowing leaves
and oozing sap.

Upon hatching from eggs laid just under the bark, ALB larvae bore into healthy hardwood trees and feed on living tree tissue and heartwood over the winter. Throughout the summer, adult beetles emerge from the round exit holes and briefly feed on the leaves and small twigs of host trees.

Early detection is critical. An ALB infestation detected in Worcester, Mass., in August
of 2008 had been growing unreported for at least 10 years. This means that ALB-infested
firewood most likely traveled out of Massachusetts, potentially starting infestations in other areas of New England and upstate New York.

Report any suspected signs of ALB. To reach the ALB cooperative eradication program
in New York, call 1-866-265-0301 or 1-877-STOP-ALB. For the ALB cooperative eradication
program in New Jersey, call 732-815-4700 or 1-866-BEETLE1. For the ALB cooperative
eradication program in Massachusetts, call 1-866-702-9938. In Illinois, call 847-699-2424.
Residents may also call the state department of agriculture or state plant health director. New
England residents may also call 1-866-702-9938.

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Comment Sought on New Invasives Species Plan

A draft plan that targets more than 180 invasive species threatening Georgia’s rich variety of native wildlife is available for public comment.

The Georgia Invasive Species Strategy describes the complex scope of problems posed by non-native plants, animals and disease-causing organisms and proposes ways to lessen the impacts in a state ranked sixth in the nation in biological diversity.

Jon Ambrose, assistant chief of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division’s Nongame Conservation Section, said the strategy provides a framework that will help communicate and coordinate invasive species management priorities.

“There are a lot of organizations that are active in this area. The Invasive Species Strategy is intended to provide a picture of where we are now and where we want to go in the future,” Ambrose said.

Copies are available at www.georgiawildlife.com (click the “Conservation” tab to reach the link) or from the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division office in Social Circle (770-761-3035). A public comment meeting is set for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Wildlife Resources Division’s Conservation Center in Social Circle. For directions, go to www.georgiawildlife.com.

The deadline to submit comments is Feb. 16. Send written comments to jon.ambrose@gadnr.org or Jon Ambrose, Georgia Wildlife Resources Division, 2070 U.S. Highway 278 S.E., Social Circle, Ga.30025.

Invasives are plants and animals accidentally or intentionally introduced outside their natural ranges and which cause harm to the environment, economy or even human health. For example, laurel wilt, a fungal disease spread by an ambrosia beetle that is not native to the U.S., is killing redbay trees and related species in the Southeastern Coastal Plain. Redbays are a food source for birds and deer, and a critical host plant for the Palamedes swallowtail butterfly.

Cogongrass, another priority invasive species, is an aggressive, colony-forming grass that chokes out native plants and is spreading across the region. The Georgia Forestry Commission has established a statewide Cooperative Weed Management Area and Task Force to help control cogongrass.

The draft Invasive Species Strategy, compiled by an advisory committee representing about 30 public agencies and non-governmental organizations, summarizes what is being done to combat invaders, identifies gaps in current programs, and recommends improvements. Objectives are aimed at guarding against the influx of more non-native species and minimizing the threat of those already here.

The Georgia Invasive Species Advisory Committee listed 51 invasive or potentially invasive plant species, 107 animals and 30 disease-causing organisms.

Next steps could include funding for an invasive species coordinator, development of new educational materials and formation of a rapid response plan for priority species.

The overriding goal of the work started in August 2007 is enhancing collaboration among invasive species efforts statewide, which will increase effectiveness and options for funding.

The Invasive Species Strategy follows on the heels of a related document that deals with aquatic exotics and was also compiled by the advisory committee. The Georgia Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plan is being reviewed by a federal task force before being finalized.

Both plans build on current efforts of groups such as the Georgia Invasive Species Task Force to identify high-priority species, assess impacts and threats, implement control methods, and educate the public about the environmental and economic impacts of invasive species.

Georgia’s Wildlife Action Plan, the conservation blueprint for the state Department of Natural Resources, rates invasive species a major threat to biodiversity and lists development of a statewide plan to monitor and control them as a high priority. On a national scale, the economic losses and environmental damage caused by exotic species total approximately $120 billion a year.

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