The Beetles Have Arrived in Massachusetts

Hole created by the Asian Longhorned beetle on a tree in Worcester, MA
(bark dissected for inspection)

An advanced infestation of Asian Longhorned Beetle has been positively identified in Worcester County Massachusetts. The potential threat posed by this pest insect to our Urban and Wild forests is so serious that the USDA has created a Quarantine Zone which is approximately 33 square miles and growing as new pockets are discovered. All infested trees will be removed, their wood chipped and incinerated.

ALB Infestations have occurred several times since 1996 in New York, New Jersey, and Chicago. In prior cases, tens of thousands of trees were destroyed and many more thousands were treated to prevent becoming infested, but pockets continue to turn up in new areas. This Worcester discovery is the first time that the Beetle has occurred outside a highly urban area and so close to our vast Northeast hardwood forests.

Adult Asian Longhorned Beetle on a leaf.

ALB is a wood boring insect that will infest perfectly healthy trees. The Larvae will tunnel into the cambium layer beneath the bark and chew up the vascular tissue disrupting water flow through the tree. They tunnel further into the heartwood to over-winter and emerge as adult beetles from May through November, leaving behind perfectly round, dime sized exit holes in the branches and trunks of the tree.

What Can You Do Now to Protect Your Neighborhood from ALB?
It is crucial that homeowners and service providers know the source of
any lumber, firewood, nursery plants, woody debris -- especially firewood.

At this point it is not known if there is any further ALB infestation in Eastern / Central Massachusetts. It is important to note however that the Worcester infestation is estimated to be between 5 and 10 years old, greatly increasing the probability that there is another ALB site in Massachusetts.

Exposure of our treasured Specimen Trees, Urban forests, and Wild Forests to Asian Longhorned Beetle would be a terrible tragedy. There is currently a Federal Order which restricts all tree and landscape activity within the quarantine zone, specifically the movement of Lumber, Firewood, Nursery plants, and Woody Debris. It seems inevitable however that either through ignorance or guile, someone will move wood out of that zone. Human activity is the primary vector of this pest!

*It is crucial that homeowners and service providers know the source of any of the aforementioned controlled materials, especially firewood.

*Learn the signs of ALB and how to spot them.

*Get your property surveyed for host tree species and inspect those trees.

Bransfield Company is taking this threat very seriously. We have spent many hours studying the Worcester infestation, learning the sign and habits of this insect through first hand exposure and have developed a range of services to protect your arbor from this terrible pest. Call or email us to arrange a consultation with an arborist.

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