By Barbara Morris
Our trees are calling for help.
It’s bad enough that our rainfall doesn’t always come in sufficient amounts to give roots enough to drink during the heat of our summer days, but now the dreaded Asian Longhorned Beetle, more than an inch long, has begun to emerge. WOR-710 radio recently aired Ralph Snodsmith’s “Garden Hotline” program which featured as guest expert Joseph Gittleman, project director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Asian Long-horned Beetle Eradication Project.
This black, white-spotted beetle with long, black antennae has a voracious appetite for live trees. Once these beetles start dining on a tree, the tree is doomed. Unfortunately, the beetle varies its diet preferences so much that there are very few varieties of trees that have not yet made it on the Asian Longhorned Beetle menu, So far, oaks and evergreens have been excluded but no one knows how long they will be spared or if, indeed, the invasion has already begun and just not yet discovered.
The USDA is asking for permission to access private property so that their surveyors can inspect your trees, hoping to stop the spread of this very destructive pest and save trees in our area. You may call 1-631-598- 5943 for an appointment or to have your questions answered.
It is believed that this beetle first entered this country in the 1970s or early ’80s by stowing away in some kind of a shipment from China. It was first discovered and identified in Brooklyn, but spread rapidly to Queens (especially northern Queens), Nassau County, Suffolk County and is now being reported by The Washington Post. We must try our best to control it, and control it fast before it continues eating its way across the country and into our neighboring countries.
Although we as civilians cannot do a complete and thorough tree inspection ourselves, we certainly can, and should, regularly check the lower portions of our own trees, local street trees, park trees we may go near, and report any suspected invasion to the proper authorities. There are two additional numbers you may call for help or information: toll free 866-265-0301, or the toll call: 631-598-5943.
The adult beetles emerge between June and November. During their lifetime of about 60 days, the female will lay 5O to 60 eggs, one egg at a time in a half-inch hole she has made in the cambium layer of a tree, She then covers the egg with a sticky substance that protects it from rain and other damage. The beetle emerging from the egg, which resembles short-grain rice, eats through the cambium layer into the hardwood. By this time the baby beetle has grown into a nasty critter about the size of an adult human being’s small finger. It is then ready to become an adult — victorious that another beautiful tree will, before long, become just another victim.
PLEASE HELP the USDA and the Department of Parks and Recreation control this past. Look for round holes about a half-inch in diameter in a scattered pattern. (Some other beetles, as well as woodpeckers drill holes in lines). Watch for adult Asian Long-horned Beetle hitch- hikers on your car, or elsewhere. If possible, put a paper cup or yogurt cup over it and then slide a cardboard underneath. Cover the container and store it in your freezer and then call the USDA who will pick it up, noting where and when it was found.
The USDA wants to restrict wood being transferred from one area to another in an effort to help prevent the spread of this beetle. If you are one of the many lucky folks who employ a gardener, please mention this serious problem to that individual, ask if the gardener understands all the necessary procedures to follow and ask the gardener to call at least one of the phone numbers in this column for regular updates and possible seminars. Remember, even if trees have never been your favorite things — maybe because you prefer sun to shade, or begrudge their maintenance, or whatever — they, through that mysterious process of photosynthesis, clean the air we breathe, and these days, that's a BIG JOB! Let’s give them our support!
