Asian Longhorned Beetle

According to Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences the Asian Longhorned Beetle is a big, shiny-black beetle with white spots. Has very long antennae, which are black with white stripes. Its body is about the size of an almond. Its total length, with antennae extended, can be nearly as long as a finger.

Control measures include removing infested trees or high risk host trees in the surrounding area are essential to stop the spread of ALB and save millions of trees.  Do not transport living or dead trees, including firewood, branches, roots, stumps, or other debris from quarantined areas. Larvae often go unnoticed because feeding occurs under the bark, and this is why transporting wood is a major problem. It is particularly important to purchase firewood where you plan to burn it.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Plant & Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine, has increased the number of officers making inspections at key ports where ALB-infested cargo is likely to be shipped.

Ohio’s hardwood forests are at risk, whose standing maple timber alone is worth $2.5 billion. The state’s $5 billion nursery industry is also threatened by the Asian Longhorned Beetle, which provides jobs for about 240,000 people.

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