(TRENTON) – New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture
Charles M. Kuperus today confirmed the discovery of
an Asian longhorned beetle in Carteret Borough, Middlesex
County.
A Carteret resident discovered the beetle – which is native to
China and capable of causing widespread damage to maple and other hardwood
trees – on a tree in his back yard on August 2 and notified authorities.
The species of beetle was confirmed on Wednesday, August 4, and further
investigation revealed an infested crimson-king maple tree on city property.
Asian longhorned beetles have caused serious tree losses in New York
State and Chicago, but have been found attacking trees only once before
in New Jersey. In October 2002, an area within 1½ miles of a 9-acre
site in Jersey City was quarantined to prevent the spread of the insect.
More than 100 infested trees at that site were removed to eliminate the
beetle.
“We have already begun the process of containing this potentially damaging
insect as we did in Jersey City in 2002. The Department is taking protective
measures to ensure that it does not spread to other areas,” said Secretary
Kuperus. “These precautions are necessary because this beetle could cause
devastating damage to Northeast forests if allowed to spread.”
Restrictions on the movement of firewood, tree trimmings and nursery
products will be instituted in a one-mile radius around the property
where the beetle was found, said Carl Schulze, Director of the NJDA’s
Division of Plant Industry.
“We want to make sure that any wood that may be infested with the beetle
does not get moved out of the area,” Schulze said. “Tree climbers
will be in the area in the coming days to inspect trees to determine how large
this infestation is.”
“The Department is working with the USDA to inspect trees within at least
a one-mile radius, looking for signs of the beetle, and that radius might increase
as the investigation continues," said Secretary Kuperus. "The battle
to eradicate the longhorned beetle requires a cooperative approach. Municipal,
county, state and federal governments, along with the public, all need to work
side by side to eradicate this pest. We are committed to marshalling the same
effort in Carteret as we did in Jersey City, and we will reach out to residents
to make sure they know what our actions are going to be.”
Asian longhorned beetles are about 1 to 1.5 inches long and have a shiny
black exterior with white spots. Their name comes from their long antennae,
which are banded black and white. The beetles typically attack one tree,
and migrate to others when their populations become too dense.
The female beetles chew holes in the bark, where they lay 35 to 90 eggs
at a time. The young hatch in 10 to 15 days and are at first white and
grub-like. They burrow beneath the tree bark to the cambium layer. After
feeding there for several weeks, they enter the woody tissue of the tree.
Once the beetle is deep inside the tree, applying pesticides does little
to eradicate them. Usually, trees must be cut, chipped or burned to eliminate
this pest.
The Department is working with the USDA, the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection and officials from Carteret and Middlesex County
on the containment of the beetle.
Asian longhorned beetles were first discovered in the United States in
1996 in the Greenpoint area of Brooklyn, and were found again in 2001
in Manhattan’s Central Park. USDA officials have determined that
they first entered the country inside solid wood packing material coming
from China.
Signs of Asian longhorned beetle infestation include:
- Large round holes anywhere on the tree, including branches, trunk and
exposed roots
- Oval or rounded, darkened wounds in the bark
- Large piles of coarse sawdust around the base of trees or where branches
meet the main stem
Anyone suspecting the presence of this beetle should contact the NJDA
at 1-866-BEETLE-1 or (609) 292-5440. For more information, visit the
APHIS Web site at www.aphis.usda.gov and
click on Asian longhorned beetle under "Hot Issues" or visit
the Rutgers Cooperative Extension web site at www.rce.rutgers.edu/presentations and
click on Asian Long-Horned Beetle under “Plant Agriculture.” |
