The Department of Agriculture has designated August as "Tree Check Month" for the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB).
The department is urging residents to inspect trees for the invasive insect, according to a July 26 news release.
August is when people are most likely to see mature beetles, the agency said.
"Checking trees for the pest and the damage it causes is how you can help us eliminate the beetle from the United States, and protect more trees," Josie Ryan, USDA National Operations manager for the ALB Eradication Program said in the release. "The sooner we know where the insect is, the sooner we can stop its spread.”
In Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina, the USDA and its collaborators are striving to eradicate the tree-killing insect, the release stated. The beetle was most recently discovered in South Carolina, where a homeowner found an ALB in their backyard in 2020, prompting USDA and the Department of Plant Industry at Clemson University to locate an active infestation. All states have trees that ALBs attack, thus other parts of the country may have undiscovered infestations.
Twelve different species of hardwood trees in North America, including maples, elms, buckeyes, birches, and willows, are common targets of the wood-boring beetle, according to the EPA. Infested trees eventually perish because they cannot recuperate. Since branches can break off and trees can topple over, especially during storms, infested trees can pose a risk to public safety. The bug eats inside tree trunks and branches as a larva, digging tunnels while it does so. When the weather warms up, the adults gnaw their way out, leaving roughly 3/4-inch spherical exit holes.
