Identification
Adult is black, irregulary marked with white splotches. Long black and white striped antennae.
Habitat
northeastern states and southern Ontario, as of 2007
Food
Larvae feed primarily on maple and poplar, but also many other hardwood tress. Unlike other borers, appears able to attack previously healthy trees, causing severe dieback and structural weakening.
Remarks
A serious pest in the NE, but has been intercepted at many other ports. If you see it, COLLECT IT and call the USDA, applicable State Agency, or Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
By user tucker1347
"The Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) (ALB) is an invasive insect from Asia that traveled to the United States (U.S.) probably contained in solid wood packing material like the crates and pallets used to import goods. The ALB larvae bore deep into deciduous trees such as maple, birch, horsechestnut, poplar, willow, elm, and ash eventually killing the tree. If the ALB were to reach the urban and suburban forests of North America, approximately 1.2 billion susceptible host trees would be at risk. Potentially, this could add up to $669 billion in losses and impacts to such valued commodities such as timber, maple syrup, nurseries, and tourism.
The ALB was first discovered in 1996 in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York by an alert resident. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, ALB Cooperative Eradication Program (ALB Program) has been operating since then to protect the biological diversity of our hardwood forests, parklands, and the quality of the urban environment from ALB infestations in the United States by eradicating this destructive ALB pest from the U.S. As of September 2006, more than 32,000 trees susceptible to ALB infestation have been removed from the U.S. to halt the spread of this invasive species.
ALB infestations have lead to Federal quarantines in sectors of New York, New Jersey, and Illinois. These states are where the ALB Eradication program’s safeguarding efforts have been concentrated. Through survey, control, and regulatory compliance measures, coupled with increased public awareness, the ALB Program protects trees. Over the years the program has made steady progress in its eradication efforts.
In 2006 the Federal and State quarantines in Chicago was recently lifted through a deregulated action. Quarantine zones in Hoboken and Jersey City, New Jersey were deregulated in 2005. In New Jersey, new pockets of infestation were uncovered through ALB Program efforts in the Middlesex/Union County area. The new discovery of infested trees prompted an expansion of the New Jersey quarantine from 16 to 25 square miles in summer 2006. The ALB program’s efforts have also led to the discovery of infested trees in sections of New York including Queens, Brooklyn and parts of Long Island in recent months.
One of the ways this wood-boring insect travels is by human transport as people move firewood from place to place while camping and vacationing. The ALB program urges people to refrain from moving firewood out of ALB quarantine areas. Travelers should buy firewood where they camp, hunt or vacation so they do not inadvertently move this pest to new regions and put more trees in danger. For more information on ALB and quarantine areas."
See Also
Banded Alder Borer is a somewhat similar species of western North America, but has white transverse bands instead of spots on the elytra.
Print References
Garden Insects of North America
(1)Internet References
species account and other information (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
