Threat to Maine Forest: The Asian Longhorned Beetle

While you are spending time in the woods or just puttering around in your back yard this summer perhaps you could help us survey for a major threat to Maine trees.  The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) has become a hot topic recently and for good reason.  ALB is an invasive wood-boring beetle that attacks healthy hardwood trees and poses a serious threat to the trees and forests of Maine.  The ALB favorable trees include: maples (Acer spp.), popular (Populus spp.), mountain ash (Sorbus spp.), horsechestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.), elm (Ulmus spp.), birch (Betula spp.), and willows (Salix spp.).  These beetles are not a conifer pest.

The best defense is early detection by people who work with trees and those who enjoy the outdoors.   Since the ALB spends most of its life cycle within the host tree the best time to observe this pest is from July to October when the beetle is in the adult stage outside the tree.  The ALB is very distinct in its appearance, there is only one major “look-a-like” in Maine - the White Spotted Pine Sawyer, which is another beetle in the longhorned family.  The White Spotted Pine Swayer only feeds on conifers and is a much duller shade of black.  For pictures of these beetles go to: http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/InvasiveThreats.htm#ALB

If you find a beetle and need help identifying it please put it in a zip lock bag and freeze it (remember these beetles chew their way out of trees, and have been known to chew out of bags).  Then bring the frozen specimen to Piscataquis, or your local County Extension Office.  Also if you are going to be camping, please buy your wood where you camp.  These beetles can travel many miles within wood and the threat of spreading them by movement of wood products is severe.  Encourage your friends, and relatives to do likewise.  This beetle has not been discovered in Maine yet.  Let’s make sure if its here we find it swiftly and minimize its damage.  Together we can make a difference!

To find out more about ALB, visit http://massnrc.org/pests/alb/ and/or come by the Piscataquis County Extension Office, 165 Main St. Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426 for some publications.

Article by Hannah Todd, Piscataquis and Somerset Home Horticulture Aide,

Photo source: U.S. Forest Service web site: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/alb/slides_images/beetlepics.shtm

Donald Duerr, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

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