They had to remove a number of trees at the Arnold Arboretum. Of all places...our treasured collection of rare and wonderful trees and shrubs.

These insects are such a serious threat to our New England landscape, both wild and cultivated, that I'm surprised this was not the lead story.

Article on Boston.com

This is very, very bad news. I guess the weather (heat wave this time) as usual trumps all real news.

Claire

I was mistaken. The beetles were at the Faulkner Hospital across the street from the Arboretum--but too close for comfort.

If someone finds a link on easy ways to help search or prevent this destruction I'd love to read it.
Thanks

All of us gardeners should keep our eyes out for this serious insect problem.

*Examine our own trees regularly, spring thru fall, from the ground up as high as possible. Use binoculars if necessary.

*Familiarize yourself with what the Asian long-horned beetle looks like. Believe me, you can't miss it--it's huge.

*Look for dime-sized holes bored in the tree trunks.

*Look for sawdust near these holes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Identifying signs of Asian long-horned beetles on your trees

On NECN this morning an entomologist said we should all be checking our trees carefully and on a regular basis. Unfortunately he didn't say (or they edited it out, if he did) what we should be looking for. So, thanks for the info. Dime sized holes with sawdust should be pretty easy to spot!

I found a huge beetle the other day, and ran in to check on line that it wasn't the dreaded ALB; it wasn't. It was reddish brown and very elongated, maybe 2 1/2 inches long x 1/3 inch wide - nothing like the Asian. Meanwhile, though, I wasn't able to get an ID using google. Does anyone have an on line resource for beetle identification? I'd like to have one bookmarked, one that will actually give you a name if you pick one out of a line up of photos. Can't seem to find that anywhere, and I think we've discussed it before.

My beetle disappeared, and I still don't know if he's snacking on trees or just minding his own business.

This is very scary for the metrowest Boston area. If you have visited many parts of Worcester over the past year or two, you'll have seen some desolate landscapes. Formerly shady, tree-lined streets almost completely razed of trees within the 'infestation' zone (which seemed to get bigger and spread into nearby Holden and Boylston as they discovered more trees with beetle damage).

It's also concerning that the beetles were found so close to Arnold Arboretum and their collections....

DTD,
I often use bugguide.net to identify any of the crawlies in my gardens...it usually works!

Here is a link that might be useful: bugguide.net

I just saw this made the front page of the Globe. They've cut down six maples. That is what is so scary, if you discovered one in your garden, that would be the end of your trees, right?

Not all trees, right? Just the infested ones, or the host trees too?
I have an acer negundo I've been dying to get of for several years. Here's my excuse!
idabean

Why can't they just kill all the beetles and their eggs, and treat the trees with something to prevent further infestation? I thought tree scientists had got beyond slash-and-burn. Surely some agriculture college or company is working on a better way?

Carol

Thanks, ellen_s, that bugguide is a good resource.

Carol, I think these guys lay their eggs deep inside the trees, so trying to kill them would not be very effective (except maybe with a nuclear device).

There are several articles with research about insecticides and it does seem that there is some success with imidacloprid

Although, injection with imidacloprid does not provide complete control of ALB, systemic insecticides may prove useful as part of an integrated eradication or management program.

I suppose the highly destructive nature and spread of ALB also requires a swift response that chemicals may not provide. They often work in lifecyle generational modes. Or, maybe slash and burn is more environmentally friendly (in an anti-chemical sense). Ya gotta think that saving the trees if possible is even more environmentally friendly.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/invasive_species/alb/control_management/systemic_insecticides/