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The Asian Longhorned Beetle
Overview:
- The Asian longhorned beetle is up to 1.5" long with antennae that are 1 to 2 times its body length. It feeds on many species of hardwood trees.
- Adult beetles are active from early summer through mid-fall
- Adult females dig 1/2 inch diameter bowl-shaped holes in the bark to bury their eggs.
- The eggs hatch within 10 to 15 days and then the worm–like immature larvae tunnel under tree bark and bore into healthy hardwood trees.
- This tunneling damages and eventually kills the tree.
- Once a tree is under attack there is no treatment available, the tree has to be removed and disposed of in a specific way.
- Preventative treatment is the only method of dealing with this pest.
Lueders Environmental is currently testing a treatment program that should
be effective in protecting your trees against the Asian longhorned beetle.
Additional Information:
Signs of Asian longhorned beetle infestation include: perfectly round, dime-sized exit holes; a sawdust-like material comprised of tree shavings and insect waste; and oozing sap. Dead and dying tree limbs or branches and yellowing leaves when there has been no drought also signal Asian longhorned beetle infestation.
The Asian longhorned beetle’s discovery was reported on August 7, 2008 in Worcester. By September 28, 2008 the infested regulated areas included not only the city of Worcester, but also parts of the towns of Boylston, Holden, Shrewsbury, and West Boylston.
The Asian longhorned beetle is native to China and other areas of eastern Asia. It is considered an invasive species in North America, where it is a serious threat to many species of deciduous hardwood trees.
While the Asian longhorned beetle can fly for distances of 400 yards or more in search of a host tree, they tend to lay eggs in the same tree from which they emerged as adults, migrating only when population density becomes too high. During the summer months, a mated adult Asian longhorned beetle female chews 35 to 90 individual depressions into the host tree's bark and lays an egg in each of the pits. The eggs hatch in 10-15 days and the white, caterpillar-like larvae tunnel into the tree's phloem and cambium layers beneath the tree bark. After several weeks, the larvae tunnel deeper in the tree's heartwood where it feeds on the tree's nutrients. The tunneling damages and eventually kills the tree. As they mature to pupae they hatch into adults inside the tree over the winter months. The full-grown adult Asian longhorned beetle’s chew their way out of the tree the next spring and summer, as early as May and as late as October or November. In the process, they leave perfectly round exit holes that are approximately 1/2" in diameter.
Although research is underway to determine the effectiveness of certain insecticides no thoroughly proven material or biological control methods are currently available. However, Lueders Environmental, Inc., is currently utilizing a treatment program that it expects will prove effective in protecting your selected trees against the Asian longhorned beetle.
Please call us at 508.359.9905 or e-mail
us at [email protected] for treatment options or any questions you may have.
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Winter moth is
a relatively new insect pest in the eastern United States. It feeds on
and defoliates a wide range of deciduous hosts, including
maple, oak, cherry, apple, crabapple trees, as well as rose bushes and
blueberry plants. Numerous people have noticed the flight of the male
moth, which begins in late November and can extend well through December
when mild weather prevails. This is why it is called winter moth. Female
winter moths are nearly wingless and do not fly. They move up the tree
or plant and attach themselves to the bark.
Local
researchers have found that in the highest winter moth population areas
approximately a quarter million or more moth eggs (very difficult to see)
per tree are now waiting to hatch (into caterpillars) this spring. The
damage is caused by the caterpillars which burrow into the leaf buds and
begin feeding. Once the bud opens, you will see holes in the leaves from
the “caterpillar bud feeding”. Should you see a number of
caterpillars or moths on your trees or plantings, please call us as
soon as possible so that we can provide you with a free comprehensive
analysis of your property before your trees and shrubs suffer significant
damage.
Treatment
for this pest begins in spring with a biological agent to suffocate as
many eggs as possible to reduce further leaf consumption. That
treatment should sometimes be followed with a second treatment in late
spring that is applied as the caterpillars emerge from the buds. If you
have any questions, please call. Our review will cost you nothing and may
give you peace of mind.
For more details and information on winter moths please click here
Please call us at 508.359.9905 or
click here to e-mail us for a treatment proposal or for any questions
you may have.
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Hemlock Woolly Adelgid continues to insidiously expand its presence. Many
of your neighbors are our clients and we have noticed an increase in
this pest in the neighborhood. If you have Hemlocks and have not seen
it yet, I expect you will. You can identify Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
by the white cottony mass on the underside of the needles as shown
in the accompanying photograph.
Early identification and controls, including horticultural
oil applications (environmentally friendly), applied during the fall and
spring along with maintaining plant health are your best weapons against
this killer. Left unchecked the woolly adelgid can and most likely will
kill Hemlock plants in 2 to 5 years.
Hemlocks generally are used as noise and privacy screens between neighbors
and street traffic. Over the years they have required minimal care. Now
they are under attack and Lueders Environmental, Inc., can treat them as
we have so many other plantings over the years. When we, as homeowners,
lose these trees it is expensive to remove their remains and replace them
with fences. We would be pleased to provide you with a free comprehensive
analysis of your property.
Please call us at 508.359.9905 or e-mail
us at [email protected] for treatment options or any questions you may have.
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