Asian Longhorned Beetle: Threat to shade trees across

North America

Kelli Hoover Penn State University University Park, PA

How did ALB get here and where

did it come from?

Beetle Damage

Katsura tree Cercidiphyllum

japonicum is a new confirmed

host for ALB

ALB impacts

• Estimated loss of 30% of urban trees, 26% of canopy cover, & value loss of $669 billion (Nowak et al. 2010)

• Infestations in NY, IL, NJ, OH, MA, Toronto & 9 countries in Europe

• Survey, eradication & prophylactic treatment $300-400 million to date

• 25 known host species in U.S. (47 worldwide)– Acer, Fraxinus, Ulmus, Populus, Salix

• USDA-APHIS management goal: eradication

Will the real ALB please stand up?• Large, 0.75-1.25 inches long; hardwoods• Very long black and white antennae• Body glossy black with irregular white spots

Male Female

Whitespotted sawyer (Monochamus scutellatus)

• Adults 0.75-1.25 inches in length; attack conifers• Males metallic black with 1 white dot at base of wing covers.

Females brown with speckles and with white dot at base of wing covers (red arrow)

• ALB does not have this white dot, though has many white spots on wing covers

Male Female

Anoplophora chinensis (citrus longhorned beetle)

For 5 points, which is ALB?

Other species mistaken for ALBhttp://www.uvm.edu/albeetle/identification/index.html

Northeastern sawyer

Cottonwood borer

Banded alder borer

Eyed elater

1996: First ALB discovered in New York City, NY

2000 2007: more in NJ, NY, and Staten Island

21,981 treesremoved in NJ

18,467 treesremoved in NY

1998: ALB discovered in Chicago, IL

2004 2006: Declared Eradicated

1,771 treesremoved in IL

Quarantine zoneafter expansion Nov. 2011

= 110 sq mi 23,540 infested trees,

almost 4 million surveyed August 15, 2008:

ALB first reported in Worcester, MAInfestation dates back before 1998

Quarantine zone 56 sq mi and 8,000+ trees

infested

June 17, 2011: ALB first reported in Bethel, Clermont

County, Ohio

Most recent ALB infestation discovery late August 2013, Farmingdale, NY

Core Area Before

Forest Block Before

AfterAfter

ALB Host Listhttp://www.uvm.edu/albeetle/hosts.htm

Japanese Lilac Kentucky Coffee Tree Dawn Redwood Southern Catalpa English Oak Swamp White Oak White Oak Bur Oak Basswood Tulip Tree Ironwood Serviceberry Gingko

Bald Cypress Honey Locust Turkish Filbert Linden Apple/ Crabapple Cherry/ Plum Hawthorn Dogwood Magnolia Pear Black Walnut Buckthorn

Possible Replacement Non-Hosts

SurveyUsed in Program

• Ground survey (accuracy ~30%)

• Tree climbing (60% accuracy; time consuming & expensive)

In Development

• Traps

• Detector Dogs

Identification of male-produced pheromone

• Compounds identified and confirmed after organic synthesis

• Structures unusual and have not been found in other cerambycids to date

OO

H

OO

H

I

II

4-(n-heptyloxy)butan-1-ol

4-(n-heptyloxy)butanal

Male produced pheromone is a 1:1 (v/v) blend of dialkylethers (MP)

Zhang et al. 2002

Quarantine Facility at PSU

Initial studies on pheromone/plant volatile combinations

1:1 MP PV

4:4 MP PV

8:8 MP PV

1:4 MP PV

1:8 MP PV

4:1 MP PV

8:1 MP PV PV

Control

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

2012 Number of beetles trapped in Harbin, China

Females Males

Beet

les

Caug

ht

b b b

c

b

b

a

* Difference between genders Females: p = 0.0041Males: p = 0.0818

a*

Trapping studies

Worcester, MA

2009-2013

Pheromone + blend of plant

volatilesIntercept Panel

trapsCore of

infestationTrapping sites

Traps set up within canopy

Some beetles caught in traps where trees had already been surveyed

or all infested trees thought to have been

removed. Further survey around trap catches

revealed undetected, infested trees.

Empty trapTrap caught beetlesTree removed earlierInfested Tree

27 July & 11 August, 2010 1 & 11 August, 2011

177 m exit holes

84 m oviposition pits only

New infested trees found: used to calculate potential draw distance

~40 m exit holes

New Exit Holes and Trap Catches

8/23/2011

8/8/2011 9/2/2011

8/23 /2011

9/13/2011

Empty trapTrap caught beetlesInfested Tree(exit or oviposition)

9/27/2011

9/26/2011

9/1/2011

8/23/2011

• Refine lures to improve trap catch and increase number of males and mated females caught

• Evaluate best trap spacing for optimum information on ALB populations in neighborhoods

• Trial deployment in high risk areas todetect new infestations

Ongoing ALB Trap Research

Funding Sources

USDA Forest Service

Northeastern Area

Thank

you

USDA -APHIS- Vic Mastro- Christine Markham- Al Sawyer- Ron Mack & Crew- Clint McFarland- Joe Gittleman

ALB Cooperative Eradication Program- Joan Mahoney- Ken Gooch- Kevin Freeman- Julie Coop (MA

DCR)- USDA Climbers- NY Agriculture and

markets crewUSDA Forest ServiceNorthern Research Station- Trotter Crew- Keena Crew

PSU: Maya Nehme, Peter Meng, Jim McNeil, David Long, Ezra Schwartzberg

Sentinel Plant Network