The pest has no natural predators in the United States. And experts fear that if the beetle gains a firm enough toehold in the United States, it could destroy millions of acres of American hardwoods, causing more damage than Dutch elm disease, chestnut blight and gypsy moths combined.

"The Asian beetle is different than our native longhorned beetles and other borers, because our species attack only declining trees," says Dr. Wayne Brewer, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System entomologist and Auburn University professor of entomology. "The Asian beetle, on the other hand, attacks perfectly healthy trees."

Once the beetles are established within a hardwood forest, the only alternative is to clear cut all of the infected trees and neighboring trees that are likely to be infested. The remedy typically involves complete deforestation.

Maple trees are of particular concern, Brewer says, although the pest also feeds on other hardwood species, including birch, elm, poplar, willow, ash and black locust.

"Any urban or suburban setting where maples and these other species are the dominant or predominant tree would be very vulnerable," he says. "Some of these neighborhoods would probably be devastated simply because the trees would either be killed or removed."

Although these hardwood species are not as prevalent in Alabama forests as in other states, the introduction of the beetles into the state would be serious nevertheless, Brewer says.

"It probably would not be as serious here as in the East and Northeast, but it still would be a major problem, because the insects, by taking out maples and other hardwood trees, would certainly change the composition of the forest and alter the ecosystem."

Residential areas and other suburban and urban landscapes in which maples are widely planted also would be especially susceptible to beetle damage.

First discovered in 1996 in Brooklyn, NY, the beetles are relative newcomers to the United States. By 1998 – and despite USDA’s nationwide alert about the beetles -- the pests were discovered in the Ravenswood area of Chicago.

The beetles can be moved in firewood, live trees or fallen timber. They also can spread rapidly, providing there are enough host trees within the vicinity.

"These beetles fly fairly well," Brewer says. "It flies to find hosts and mates and would easily emerge from one infested tree and fly to a new host, covering distances of a half mile in some cases."

Female beetles chew depressions into the bark of trees and then begin laying eggs into them. A single female can lay between 35 and 90 eggs. Between 10 and 15 days later, the larvae emerge and begin burrowing under the tree bark and other hardwood trees. They survive throughout fall and winter feeding on the trees’ living tissue. With the arrival of spring, the fully grown beetles emerge through exit holes and begin feeding on the trees’ exteriors for about two to three days until they begin mating.

While no Asian longhorned beetle infestations have yet been detected in Alabama, Brewer and other experts say it pays to be vigilant.

"There are a number of longhorned beetle species in Alabama, but it’s very easy to tell these native beetles apart from the Asian beetles," Brewer says. "The Asian beetles are a very attractive species, mostly black, with white spots."

"We have some related species that look a little like Asian beetles, but they are white with black spots."

Modern transportation has rapidly increased the spread of the Asian longhorned beetle and other species.

"Experts have learned the beetles can travel long distances in shipping containers and wood products, making it possible for them to get into any port where products are shipped in from foreign countries," Brewer says.