Press Releases

Anna Cherry (301) 734-7253
Jerry Redding (202) 720-6959

USDA TO CONTINUE ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE ERADICATION EFFORTS

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2002—The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Asian Longhorned Beetle Cooperative Eradication Program will innoculate 46,000 susceptible trees this spring to prevent further infestation of the Asian longhorned beetle in Illinois. The insecticide imidacloprid has displayed promising results, and USDA will continue to use it to treat a greater portion of the nearly 30 square miles of quarantine area.

Treatments are monitored by project officials and are administered by injecting the insecticide into the soil around the tree's root system or by small capsules placed at the tree base. The insecticide is dispersed throughout the tree through its circulatory system. This enables the insecticide to reach Asian longhorned beetle adults and larvae as they feed on leaves and small twigs and beneath the bark of host trees.

Imidacloprid is currently used in store-bought lawn and garden products and by lawn service companies to kill lawn grubs and is in some domestic pet treatments to kill fleas. Combined with ongoing inspections, rapid removal of infested trees, and established quarantine regulations, these treatments have helped to significantly reduce the incidence of this exotic pest in Chicago.

The Asian longhorned beetle, native to China, bores into healthy hardwood trees and feeds on living tree tissue during the larval stage. Later, throughout the summer, adult beetles emerge from exit holes and briefly feed on the leaves and small twigs of host trees. To fight this destructive pest, agriculture officials removed and destroyed more than 1,500 trees in the Chicago area and close to 5,700 trees in New York City and State including the recent infestation in New York's Central Park. Tree destruction has been the only method for controlling this beetle since its initial discovery in New York in 1996 and the later discovery in Illinois in 1998.

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) officials are optimistic that using imidacloprid will decrease beetle populations and future tree loss but advise that, if a tree is found to be infested, it will be removed regardless of treatment. The goal is to eradicate this highly destructive insect from Illinois and New York before it can establish itself elsewhere.

For more information, visit the APHIS website at www.aphis.usda.gov and click on Asian longhorned beetle under "Hot Issues." To report a sighting of the Asian longhorned beetle, please call (312) 742-3385.

APHIS, the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation participate in the Asian Longhorned Beetle Cooperative Eradication Program.