{"id":5756,"date":"2011-09-01T13:23:26","date_gmt":"2011-09-01T17:23:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=5756"},"modified":"2011-09-01T13:23:26","modified_gmt":"2011-09-01T17:23:26","slug":"asian-longhorned-beetle-poses-threat-to-new-england-maples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2011\/09\/01\/asian-longhorned-beetle-poses-threat-to-new-england-maples\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian longhorned beetle poses threat to New England maples"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>Signs of fall are beginning to appear in the northeastern United States.\u00a0 Glimpses of colorful leaves are showing and a crisp autumn smell hangs in the air.\u00a0 Maple trees make up much of New England\u2019s landscape and are integral to both thriving tourist and maple syrup industries.\u00a0 Now, a new study<\/a> just out in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research<\/em> suggests that if left uncontrolled, the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) can \u201creadily disperse into natural forest landscapes and alter the makeup of North America\u2019s hardwood forest region.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study focuses on the ongoing ALB infestation in Worcester, Massachusetts, the only outbreak so far in which the beetles have invaded nearby closed-canopy forests.\u00a0 ALB infestations have famously occurred in cities including New York, Boston and in Chicago. Native to eastern China, the ALB was first discovered in the U.S. in 1996, probably arriving in wood packaging material shipped from Asia.\u00a0 As described on the Center for Invasive Species Research website<\/a>, the wood-boring beetle often kills otherwise healthy trees by girdling them and creating holes in the bark, leaving the trees vulnerable to additional attacks by other insects or disease.\u00a0 The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been working to control<\/a> or eradicate ALB populations and raise public awareness and cooperation as seen in the agency\u2019s public service announcement in the video below.<\/p>\n