Ag Secretary Asks Public to Help Keep Tree-Killing Beetle Out of PA

Asian Longhorned Beetle Now in Neighboring States, Could Threaten Hardwoods Industry

HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvanians are urged to be on the lookout for the Asian Longhorned Beetle, an invasive wood-boring pest that could severely harm Pennsylvania's $25 billion hardwoods industry, Agriculture Secretary Russell C. Redding said today.

"The Asian Longhorned Beetle has not yet been found in Pennsylvania, but it could pose a major threat to the timber, maple syrup and tourism industries if it ever enters our state," said Redding. "By learning to identify this pest, we can all help to protect our precious resources that are a vital part of our economy."

August is "Asian Longhorned Beetle Awareness Month" by proclamation of Governor Edward G. Rendell.  Redding will present the Governor's proclamation at Ag Progress Days in Rock Springs, Centre County, at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 17, during an event with the Pennsylvania Hardwoods Council to celebrate the one-millionth visitor to its educational Woodmobile.

The adult Asian Longhorned Beetle is three-quarters to one-and-a-quarter inch long, has a jet-black glossy body with 20 white or yellow spots on each wing, and long blue or black and white antennae.

Beetle larvae tunnel through tree stems causing girdling that cuts off the flow of nutrients, eventually killing the tree. Adult beetles leave round exit holes in the tree, resulting in coarse sawdust at the base of infested parts of the tree. There is no known practical control for this wood-boring pest other than destroying infested trees.

The beetles attack and eventually kill many species of trees, but prefer maple species. Soft (red maple) and hard (sugar maple) trees make up more than 23 percent of Pennsylvania's hardwood forests. Maple lumber production in the state is worth more than $3 billion and maple syrup production contributes nearly $3 million to the economy.

The beetle also attacks species of birch, buckeye, horsechestnut, elm and willow trees.

Native to China and Korea, the beetle was first discovered in North America in New York in 1996 and has since been found in Illinois, New Jersey and Massachusetts, mainly in urban settings.

Pennsylvania's proximity to New York and New Jersey raise a concern due to frequent travel across state borders for recreational purposes. If the beetle is ever found in Pennsylvania, the Department of Agriculture will partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's Plant Protection and Quarantine division and the U.S. Forest Service to implement a full-scale eradication program.

The program would entail surveys, imposing quarantines to prevent accidental transport of the beetle, removal and destruction of infested host trees and high risk trees, as well as outreach and replanting efforts.

Any Pennsylvania resident who believes they have found an Asian Longhorned Beetle should call the Department of Agriculture's toll-free pest hotline at 1-866-253-7189 or e-mail [email protected].

For more information about Asian Longhorned Beetle, contact Sven-Erik Spichiger, entomology program manager at 717-772-5229, or visit www.invasivespeciescouncil.com. The website also offers photos.

Media contact: Jean Kummer, 717-787-5085

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture