Beetle-Mania
Liz Burke
Issue date: 11/7/08 Section: News
In August of this year, a Whitmarsh Ave. resident here in Worcester spotted some unfamiliar bugs in her backyard. After doing some research online and coming to the conclusion that the bug might be what is called an Asian Longhorned Beetle. The resident put in a call to the USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture. People from the department came to check the tree, and on August 6th it was confirmed that the Asian Longhorned Beetles were present in the Greendale area of the city. Since then, Director of Communications for the City of Worcester, Christina Andrioli says that the City of Worcester has "stepped into gear" in identifying the infested trees, formulating a plan to exterminate them, and keeping the people of Worcester informed.
The Asian Longhorned Beetle has caused quite a stir here in Worcester over the past few months because of the damage that it can do to hardwood trees. The beetle, which is coincidentally from Asia, can be ¾ to 1 ¾ inches long, and is black with white dots and long antennae. It was first introduced to the United States through untreated wood crating; the first sighting of the beetles was in New York in 1996. Since then the federal government has enacted legislation to deal with all wood crating being imported into the country-all wood must be inspected to minimize the migration of these beetles. These beetles pose a threat to hardwood trees by embedding themselves into the trunk of the trees, where they feed on the bark and lay their larvae. This feeding and reproduction eventually deteriorates and kills the tress, which also poses a safety hazard because the weakened tree can easily fall down. Andrioli describes the infested trees as looking like "machine guns had been used on them," once the beetles have fed on them for some time. Although the beetles have the ability to fly up to 1 ½ miles, they are not usually very mobile and will live in a tree until it dies. "Worcester has enough maples to keep them full for a while," Andrioli adds.
The Asian Longhorned Beetle has caused quite a stir here in Worcester over the past few months because of the damage that it can do to hardwood trees. The beetle, which is coincidentally from Asia, can be ¾ to 1 ¾ inches long, and is black with white dots and long antennae. It was first introduced to the United States through untreated wood crating; the first sighting of the beetles was in New York in 1996. Since then the federal government has enacted legislation to deal with all wood crating being imported into the country-all wood must be inspected to minimize the migration of these beetles. These beetles pose a threat to hardwood trees by embedding themselves into the trunk of the trees, where they feed on the bark and lay their larvae. This feeding and reproduction eventually deteriorates and kills the tress, which also poses a safety hazard because the weakened tree can easily fall down. Andrioli describes the infested trees as looking like "machine guns had been used on them," once the beetles have fed on them for some time. Although the beetles have the ability to fly up to 1 ½ miles, they are not usually very mobile and will live in a tree until it dies. "Worcester has enough maples to keep them full for a while," Andrioli adds.
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