Date: 3/30/99

Time: 8:55

Type: Symposium

Number: 94

Asian longhorn beetle: The threat to North American forests and the potential for classical biological control

*T. Poland and R. Haack, USDA-FS, East Lansing, MI 48823
Contact e-mail: polandt@pilot.msu.edu

The recent detections of Asian longhorned beetle in New York and Chicago pose a serious threat to North American hardwood forests. This exotic wood borer attacks and kills apparently healthy trees of various ages and sizes. In both New York and Chicago the beetle is attacking mostly maple trees. In addition, this beetle has also attacked aspen, birch, willow, elm, ash, horsechestnut, and Rose-of-Sharon trees in the US. In China, the Asian longhorned beetle is considered a major pest throughout its distribution where its primary host trees include poplar, willow, and elm. New infestations are likely to occur in the future given the large quantity of material imported from China in wood packing materials that may contain exotic insects upon arrival. A major research program is being initiated to develop an efficient management program for this insect. Potential biological control agents are being investigated in China and elsewhere in Asia, including parasitic wasps, predators including a beetle in the family Colydiidae, and pathogens including Beauvaria.

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