Asian+Longhorned+Beetle

** Taxonomy: ** Kingdom:Animalia  Phylum: Arthropoda   Class: Insecta   Order: Coleoptera   Family:Cerambycidae   Subfamily:Lamiinae   Tribe:Monochamini   Genus://Anoplophora//   Species://**A. glabripennis**//
 * Asian Longhorned Beetle**

As the name suggests the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) is in fact native to Asia. The ALB was believed to be introduced into the United States and Europe around 1992. International trade is to blame for the spread of this now extremely prevalent pest. The problem is very similar to the Emerald Wood Borer in that it isn't the adults that do the damage to the trees, its the larvae. The adults feed on twigs and leaves from the trees but the larvae burrow deep within the vascular tissue of the tree leaving it unstable and weak. Over the course of many years the trees either die from poor nutrition or they become too structurally week and topple over. Between this and other destructive non-native pests the estimated damage is $3.5 billion in the United States Alone. Also, the ALB doesn't restrict itself to trees found in forests. The ALB also places more than a third of urban trees in the US at high risk as well.([|1]) The ALB tends to pick out hard wood trees such as birch, elm, willow, oak and maple. This makes the pest extremely variable and difficult to seek out. However in recent years eradication efforts have had decent success. Now infestations are no longer present in the US and all ALB have been eliminated from the greater metropolis outside of New York City. Yet prevention and eradication efforts still remain a high priority within the US at this time. (Figure 2) ** Life Cycle: ** The life cycle of the ALB is what makes it pest in many instances. Like many beetles the ALB starts as an egg, moves into a larval stage, followed by a pupa stage and concluding as a sexually reproductive adult. In figure 2 it is obvious how destructive the larvae can be as they bore deep within the hardened layers of the tree. Also it has been demonstrated that females will preferentially pick out trees that they believe are more suitable for their offspring. In a study, they chose trees that were not native to Asia such as maples and elms over native Asian trees. However the choice of the female wasn't always more suitable for the upbringing of their young. ([|2]) (Figure 3) ** Economic Impact: ** The ALB, as we now know, is an invasive species that enjoys making a living in hardwood trees. Many of the hardwood trees that the invader likes to call home are sugar maples. Sugar maple trees are riddled throughout the Northeast and actually are the preferred host of the beetle.([|3]) This spells disaster for the states like Vermont and New York that have a thriving maple syrup industry. Vermont's maple industry is worth tens of millions of dollars and the ALB is a large threat t this industry. The ALB has been sighted within fifty miles of Vermont along the border f Massachusetts. The loss of tourism and production related to maple syrup production for Vermont'd economy where maple syrup ranks as one of the top revenues. Traps and markers have been established by state officials to track the movement of these invasive beetles. Already in Massachusetts over 100 million dollars has been spent in state and federal tax dollars in the past five years alone. The USDA believes eradication of this pest is possible but it clearly comes at a great cost to the ordinary taxpayer. Just this year, New York officials reported that the presence of the beetle has been eradicated in the New York/Long island region. Urban and forest environments are equally effected by this beetle and eradication still remains a main goal as we move forward. Here is a link below with some more interesting information dealing with the ALB in Vermont: [] (Figure 4) Fig 1- Haack, Robert. "Managing Invasive Populations of Asian Longhorned Beetle and Citrus Longhorned Beetle: A Worldwide Perspective." - Annual Review of Entomology, 55(1):521. N.p., 10 Sept. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. . Fig 2- Haack, Robert. "Managing Invasive Populations of Asian Longhorned Beetle and Citrus Longhorned Beetle: A Worldwide Perspective." - Annual Review of Entomology, 55(1):521. N.p., 10 Sept. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. . Fig 3- "Asian Longhorned Beetle Update." Vermont Division of Forestry. N.p., Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. . Fig 4- "Asian Long-horned Beetle." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 July 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. . 1) Haack, Robert A., Franck Hérard, Jianghua Sun, and Jean J. Turgeon. "Managing Invasive Populations of Asian Longhorned Beetle and Citrus Longhorned Beetle: A Worldwide Perspective." Annual Review of Entomology 55.1 (2008): 090910103627024. Print. 2) Morewood, W.D., K. Hoover, P.R. Neiner, J.R. McNeil, and J.C. Sellmer. "Host Tree Resistance against the Polyphagous Wood-boring Beetle Anoplophora Glabripennis." Entomologia Experimentalis Et Applicata 110.1 (2004): 79-86. Print. 3) Dubois, Thomas, Ann E. Hajek, and Susan Smith. "Methods for Rearing the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) on Artificial Diet." Annals of the Entomological Society of America 95.2 (2002): 223-30. Print. Website: "The Invaders: Asian Longhorned Beetle - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-." The Invaders: Asian Longhorned Beetle - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-. WCAX, 21 May 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. .
 * Description: **
 * Image References: **
 * Information references: **