Can We Eradicate the Asian Longhorned Beetle?

Asian longhorned beetle and "exit hole." Credit: R. Anson Eaglin, USDA-APHIS

Posted by Rhonda Santos, APHIS Public Affairs Specialist, on April 23, 2013 at 1:24 PM

This past March, almost 11 years after being found in New Jersey, federal and state agriculture officials are finally able to say that the state’s long-running battle against the non-native Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) is over.

New Jersey is the second state to declare itself free from the invasive tree-killing insect.  The beetle was successfully eradicated from Illinois in 2008, and the ALB-regulated area of Islip, New York, also achieved eradication in 2011.  So, getting rid of this “hungry pest” is possible.  That’s good news, because, depending on where you live, 70 percent of your community’s tree canopy could be lost to ALB.

The best line of defense is you.

Each year, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service observes April as Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month.  I am asking you to take a few minutes to learn about the Asian longhorned beetle; yes, what the beetle looks like, but more importantly, the kinds of damage it causes.
ALB is already responsible for the loss of more than 80,000 trees in the U.S.  It attacks many species of hardwood trees, including maple, ash, elm and birch trees.  But in addition to the beetle itself, one distinct characteristic of the damage that it causes is holes in trees as the adult beetle emerges out.
These “exit holes” are about the size of a dime and are perfectly round.  They can be seen on tree trunks and branches.  Other signs include shallow depressions or scars on the bark, sawdust-like wood shavings around the tree, and even dead or fallen branches.

Now is a great time to look at your trees for this pest because many trees still have not yet leafed out, and so you can see further up the tree.  But, please also mark your calendars to look again in August as August is Tree Check Month for ALB, and is the time of year when you will be most likely to see an adult beetle.  Checking trees on your property and around your community when you are out and about is a way to help protect your trees and aid in early detection.

Early reporting of the ALB is essential to stopping the spread of this invasive pest.  The sooner we know about an ALB infestation, the sooner we can do something about it to protect neighboring trees.
By taking a few minutes to learn about ALB and look at your trees, you can save more trees and keep your neighborhood safe from this pest.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has declared April as Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month. Throughout the month, APHIS is posting a series of blog entries here and also share invasive plant pest and disease information through our twitter feed. APHIS and its federal and state partners are fighting to protect our communities, our public lands, and our agricultural resources from invasive species. But we can’t do it alone. Join the fight by visiting www.HungryPests.com.

March Issue of the National Plant Diagnostic Newsletter

The March issue of NPDN News is now available at www.npdn.org/newsletter

March Highlights:

·         The Sentinel Plant Network kicks off a second round of workshops in Las Vegas

·         Star-D auditing exercise and GAP audit in Kansas

·         Diagnostic tip: literature references

·         Asian longhorned beetle eradicated in New Jersey

·         Zebra chip report from Texas

·         National Repository tip: selectable fields report

·         In Regional News: CBS and ACP federal orders

All NPDN newsletters are archived on the NPDN website.

Push for Additional Funding to Eradicate Emerald Ash Borer and Other Invasive Pests

For Immediate Release
April 24, 2008


Casey, Lugar Push for Additional Funding to Eradicate Emerald Ash Borer and Other Invasive Pests

April 24, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) led a bipartisan group of 20 Senators today in sending a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee asking for $90 million to increase funding to help eradicate invasive pests that threaten our forests. The letter was sent to Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Robert Bennett (R-UT), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies.

“As Members from states adversely impacted or imminently threatened by invasive forest insects and diseases, we urge you to include sufficient funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) programs to eradicate the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), Asian Longhorned Beetle, Sudden Oak Death, and Sirex Woodwasp,” the Senators wrote. “Programs to contain these critical threats to our nation’s forests have been under-funded for years, enabling these invasive species to persist and spread.”

Invasive pests like EAB threaten forests, urban landscapes and commercial nurseries in Pennsylvania and Indiana. EAB spread from Michigan to Indiana and most recently to Pennsylvania. Federal funding will help assist the states in fighting this pest, which could devastate their landscapes and economies.

Full text of the letter is below:

Dear Chairman Kohl and Ranking Member Bennett,

As Members from states adversely impacted or imminently threatened by invasive forest insects and diseases, we urge you to include sufficient funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) programs to eradicate the Emerald Ash Borer, Asian Longhorned Beetle, Sudden Oak Death, and Sirex Woodwasp. Programs to contain these critical threats to our nation’s forests have been under-funded for years, enabling these invasive species to persist and spread.

We respectfully request that you include the following funding levels in the Fiscal Year 2009 Agriculture Appropriations bill: $45 million for Emerald Ash Borer; $30 million for Asian Longhorned Beetle; $10 million for Sudden Oak Death; and $5 million for Sirex Woodwasp. These enhanced funding levels have been endorsed by the American Forest & Paper Association, American Nursery and Landscape Assocation, National Plant Board, the National Association of State Foresters, Nature Conservancy, Society of American Forests, and others.

Each of these pests has the potential to cause substantial damage to major portions of the United States. Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) is a beetle native to Asia that has been found in significant portions of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio; as well as portions of Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. EAB has already cost our states, towns, and commercial nurseries millions of dollars. If unchecked, EAB has the potential to cost billions of dollars of damage nationwide, including millions of dollars in costs to municipalities for street tree removal and replanting and significant costs for private homeowners. While the geographic range of EAB and the complexity of managing the pest species have multiplied, preventing further spread is critical to protecting vulnerable forests and the many towns and cities where ash now line streets and parks. Increased appropriations are necessary to slow the spread of this pest and pursue promising research efforts aimed at developing successful management strategies.

The Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) is a wood-boring insect native to China and Korea that has invaded New York (1996), Illinois (1998), and New Jersey (2002) via shipping containers. The insect has also invaded the Toronto metropolitan area in Canada. Infestations in Chicago and Jersey City are thought to be eradicated and the second outbreak in New Jersey has been greatly reduced in scope. However, the New York infestations persist (Staten Island was discovered last year to be infested). The continued presence of the beetle in New York presents a threat to the entire Northeast. We request a funding level of $30 million dollars to complete this important work.

Sudden Oak Death (Phytophthora ramorum) has killed millions of oak and tanoaks in coastal California and Oregon. Estimates by APHIS and the Forest Service indicate that if Sudden Oak Death moved across country, the disease could threaten oak, sugar maple, and other tree and shrub species across much of the eastern half of the nation, including portions of the Southeast and Appalachians. We therefore request a funding level of $10 million, which would be sufficient to maintain the quarantine established under a 2004 emergency rule, update the quarantine with new regulations, increase sampling and testing within the nursery trade, and fund an initiative to develop and pilot a systems approach to nursery regulation and inspection.

The Sirex Woodwasp (Sirex noctilio) is a wood-boring insect native to Europe, Asia and North Africa. In 2004, Sirex Woodwasp was detected in New York and Ontario; the invasive insect species now infests much of New York, four counties in northern Pennsylvania, two counties in Michigan, and one country in Vermont; as well as portions of Ontario. Unchecked, the U.S. Forest Service estimated that the Sirex Woodwasp could cause up to $11 billion in damage to the pine wood products industry of the Southeast. We respectfully request a funding level of $5 million, which would be sufficient to institute a federal quarantine on the movement of logs and other vectors and to carry out control programs utilizing a parasitic nematode.

Thank you for your attention to this request. We look forward to our continued work together to prevent and eradicate these harmful invasive pests.

Sincerely,

Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Richard Lugar (R-IN, Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Arlen Specter (R-PA), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Carl Levin (D-MI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), George Voinovich (R-OH), John Rockefeller (D-WV), Russ Feingold (D-WI), John Warner (R-VA), Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), John Kerry (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Edward Kennedy (D-MA)

Press Contact Kendra Barkoff - (202) 228-6367

USDA AND ITS PARTNERS DECLARE VICTORY OVER THE ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE

USDA Press Release: April 17, 2008

Illinois is First State to Reach Eradication of the Invasive Pest



CHICAGO, April 17, 2008 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the City of Chicago today announced the official eradication of the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) from Illinois. The event was held in the Ravenswood, Chicago neighborhood where the pest was found almost 10 years ago. This makes Illinois the first state fighting active ALB infestations to declare victory over the invasive insect.

"This successful eradication would not have been possible without the solid partnership between federal, state and local governments fighting ALB in Illinois," said Bruce Knight, under secretary for USDA's marketing and regulatory programs. "Eliminating the ALB involved the innovative use of resources, open lines of communication between government agencies and the public and a united commitment to decisive and results-oriented actions."

ALB was discovered in Illinois in the summer of 1998, and the most recent infestation was detected around Chicago's Oz Park in 2003. Since that time, extensive surveys have not found adult ALB or any signs of infestation. With at least four years of active surveys and no signs of insects or infestation uncovered, USDA and its partners now can declare ALB eradication in Illinois.

"The combination of great teamwork with our state and federal allies and the extremely strong support of Mayor Daley and our elected officials from the impacted neighborhoods made it possible for us to aggressively go after this invasive pest and eradicate the ALB from Chicago," said Deputy Commissioner Malcolm Whiteside, head of the Chicago Department of Streets & Sanitation's Bureau of Forestry.

Between 1998 and 2006, approximately 1,771 host trees were removed to destroy the invasive insect. In Illinois, ALB quarantine zones have existed in numerous Chicago neighborhoods, including Oz Park, Ravenswood, Kilbourn Park, Loyola, Park Ridge, O'Hare, Addison and Summit. As many as 35 square miles were quarantined for the pest in and around Chicago, with 61 square miles considered infested and surveyed for signs of beetles. The last chemical treatments took place in the Oz Park area in 2006.

"This day would not have been possible without the hard work and cooperation of many individuals and agencies," said Warren Goetsch, bureau chief of environmental programs for the Illinois Department of Agriculture. "The federal and state governments, along with the efforts of the city of Chicago and various towns and villages, all contributed mightily to the success of this project. I encourage local residents to recognize the tremendous work put forth by these groups and join us as we celebrate the complete eradication of this pest in Illinois"

Today's eradication event took place in the same Ravenswood neighborhood where an alert citizen first discovered the ALB when he reported an unusual beetle on tree limbs in the late 1990's. More than 1,400 infested trees were removed from that area alone.

The ALB is about 1.5 inches long and shiny black with antenna up to twice the length of their bodies, banded in black and white. Host tree species that beetles favor include maple, birch, elm and poplar, among others.

USDA currently is working with its state and local government partners to eradicate ALB in parts of New York and in central New Jersey. Additional information about ALB can be found at www.aphis.usda.gov.

USDA Pledges Millions For Light Brown Apple Moth Eradication

Elizabeth Larson
Capital Press

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is stepping up its efforts to fight the light brown apple moth, announcing last week that it intends to offer a five-fold increase in funds for the moth's eradication program.

In a statement released Jan. 24, then-acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner said USDA would make available $74.5 million in emergency funding to continue efforts in California to stop the moth's spread.

USDA provided $15 million in emergency funding last August. California Department of Food and Agriculture and USDA have continued working cooperatively on surveillance, trapping and treatment, USDA reported.

In the statement Conner said those efforts have contained the moth in the initial quarantine area, which resulted in lifting control quarantine restrictions in two of the 12 infected California counties.

While the intensive eradication effort will still remain largely centered in California - where the moths were confirmed last March in the Bay Area - USDA spokesman Larry Hawkins said plans for 2008 include a 50-state national detection survey to verify that light brown apple moth is not present anywhere else in the continental United States.

USDA reported that it plans to target nursery stock in that survey, along with orchards and urbanized areas with ornamental plantings that are attractive to the light brown apple moth.

Hawkins did not have a cost breakdown for how much of the USDA emergency funding would go to the survey and how much would be spent in California.

USDA emphasized the need to eradicate the moth because of its wide host list, including more than 2,000 plant species, as well as its threats to California's natural environment - including its redwood and cypress tree populations.

The difference in funding for 2008 will allow eradication treatments to broaden significantly. Hawkins said pheromone twist-ties applied to trees and bushes will increase, a treatment that he said is labor-intensive because they have to be placed by hand.

CDFA and USDA also announced last week a range of other new treatment options in addition to those already in use, including use of a male attractant and introduction of tiny Trichogramma wasps that lay their eggs in light brown apple moth eggs.