Asian Longhorned Beetle

Anoplophora glabripennis — the Asian longhorned beetle — is one of the most economically destructive INVASIVE WOOD-BORING BEETLES introduced to North America in the past century and a flagship case of accidental insect invasion via global timber trade. The species is native to East Asia (especially China and Korea), where it is a major pest of hardwood trees. The species was first detected in NA in 1996 in Brooklyn, NY (introduced via wooden shipping crates and pallets from China — the larvae develop inside untreated solid wood and emerge as adults after the wood has been transported overseas). Subsequent detections occurred in Chicago (1998), Toronto (2003), New Jersey (2002), Massachusetts (2008), Ohio (2011), and South Carolina (2020). Adults are large 25-40 mm long, jet-black with bright WHITE SPECKLED MARKINGS scattered across the elytra (wing covers), and the species' diagnostic feature: ANTENNAE NEARLY TWICE THE BODY LENGTH (the segmented antennae are alternately black-and-white banded, making them look like miniature crocodile tails extending from the beetle's head). The species poses an EXISTENTIAL THREAT to North American hardwood forest health. Larvae tunnel through living wood of MAPLES (especially sugar maple — the species used for maple syrup production), willow, poplar, elm, birch, and other hardwoods over a 1-2 year development period, eventually killing the host tree by destroying the cambium layer (the living wood-producing layer between bark and heartwood). Adult emergence holes are large round 1-cm openings in the bark that are diagnostic of an Asian longhorned beetle infestation. USDA-APHIS has spent over $700 MILLION on eradication efforts since 1996, including: tree removal (every confirmed-infested tree must be cut down, ground into chips, and burned to prevent further spread — over 30,000 trees have been removed in eradication programs to date), regulatory restrictions on movement of solid wood material (firewood, lumber, mulch) out of quarantine zones, and ongoing community surveillance. The species has been successfully eradicated from Chicago, NJ, Boston-area Massachusetts, and Toronto — but ongoing detections in Ohio, SC, and Long Island NY mean the eradication battle continues. The species is featured in essentially every modern textbook discussion of invasive forest insect pests, and the 'see something, say something' citizen surveillance campaign for Asian longhorned beetle is one of the most-publicized invasive species awareness programs in North American history.