Beetle-Mania

In August of this year, a Whitmarsh Ave. resident here in Worcester spotted some unfamiliar bugs in her backyard. After doing some research online and coming to the conclusion that the bug might be what is called an Asian Longhorned Beetle. The resident put in a call to the USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture. People from the department came to check the tree, and on August 6th it was confirmed that the Asian Longhorned Beetles were present in the Greendale area of the city. Since then, Director of Communications for the City of Worcester, Christina Andrioli says that the City of Worcester has "stepped into gear" in identifying the infested trees, formulating a plan to exterminate them, and keeping the people of Worcester informed.

The Asian Longhorned Beetle has caused quite a stir here in Worcester over the past few months because of the damage that it can do to hardwood trees. The beetle, which is coincidentally from Asia, can be ¾ to 1 ¾ inches long, and is black with white dots and long antennae. It was first introduced to the United States through untreated wood crating; the first sighting of the beetles was in New York in 1996. Since then the federal government has enacted legislation to deal with all wood crating being imported into the country-all wood must be inspected to minimize the migration of these beetles. These beetles pose a threat to hardwood trees by embedding themselves into the trunk of the trees, where they feed on the bark and lay their larvae. This feeding and reproduction eventually deteriorates and kills the tress, which also poses a safety hazard because the weakened tree can easily fall down. Andrioli describes the infested trees as looking like "machine guns had been used on them," once the beetles have fed on them for some time. Although the beetles have the ability to fly up to 1 ½ miles, they are not usually very mobile and will live in a tree until it dies. "Worcester has enough maples to keep them full for a while," Andrioli adds.

While the removal process won't begin until December, a cooperative surveying process has been launched by the USDA, the Animal and Plant Health and Inspection Survey, the Department of Conservation and Regulation, and the City of Worcester. The entire city of Worcester has now been placed under regulation. With approximately 2,500 trees currently infested, all Worcester residents and businesses have been restricted from taking any wood out of the regulated area. The members of the departments involved in the surveying process are figuring out which trees are infested with the beetles by checking the trees and then marking them. There are currently twenty-four smoke jumpers from the western part of the state and thirteen ground crews being used to climb into and inspect the trees. Once inspected, a blue mark is used to indicate that a tree has been surveyed and that it doesn't seem to be infested, and a red mark is used to indicate that the tree is infested and will need to be removed. When the removal process gets underway, the infested trees will need to be cut down and grinded into one- inch chips. This is the only way to kill the beetles, Andrioli says, because "they have no known enemies."

In order to ensure that these beetles are not present in the Worcester area for much longer, the city is doing their best to keep residents updated and is taking additional measures to ensure that they do not spread to more trees or areas, such as New Hampshire or Vermont where the maple syrup industry is at stake. Many special articles and instructions have been posted on both the city of Worcester website (http://www.ci.worcester.ma.us/) and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette website (http://www.telegram.com/article/20081030/NEWS/810300645/-1/BEETLES) to assist residents. Furthermore, residents are being asked not to turn to any private companies or treatments to attempt to remove trees; the city of Worcester will do so in a regulated area, free of charge, as there are no over-the-counter treatments to treat the infestation. And although the cooperative team is scheduled to survey our Holy Cross campus in the near future, officials are asking all residents to call the public outreach hotline at 1-866-702-9938 to report a beetle sighting, or to notify an "ALB Compliance Officer" at 508-799-8327 if it is suspected that any wood materials are being transported out of the regulated area. So as a permanent or temporary Worcester resident, do your part to save the city's trees by keeping a look out and staying informed on the beetle situation.