AgEBB-MU CAFNR Extension

Green Horizons

Volume 23, Number 1
Winter 2019

Agroforestry

Asian Longhorned Beetle in Missouri

By Sarah Phipps| Missouri Department of Agriculture

The Asian longhorned beetle, or ALB, kills maple trees among a long list of other hardwood trees - help watch for it in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Agriculture is evaluating host trees this winter for signs of Asian longhorned beetle. So far, ALB has not been detected in Missouri.

Photo source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh6hyMNN0W0

Surveyors are looking for perfectly round exit holes (3/8 inch in diameter) in the upper canopy of maple species (Acer spp.), including boxelder, Norway, red, silver, sugar, and sycamore maples. Other known hosts are horse chestnut, black locust, elms, birches, willows, poplars and green ash.

How you can help

• Keep an eye out for ALB in the summer through fall. Check your trees regularly for this insect and look for damage it causes.

• ALB measures 1 to 1.5 inches in length with long antennae.

• Their bodies are black with small white spots, and their antennae are banded in black and white.

• View photos of tree damage and beetle look-alikes at MU Extension's Tree Pests website www.treepests.missouri.edu

• Watch the educational 'Healthy Trees-Healthy Cities' video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh6hyMNN0W0