Description of the Asian Long-horned Beetle

Beetle Characteristics

• Asian long-horned beetles have characteristics in common with all beetle species, such as three major body sections: head, thorax and abdomen. All beetles have six legs that can grip and hold on to surfaces or be used to clean with. Like all beetles, the Asian long-horned beetle has four stages of life: egg, larva, pupa and adult. The antenna of the Asian long-horned beetle are nearly as long as its body, and the elytra work to control the beetle's temperature and moisture levels.

The Beetle In Detail

• The Asian long-horned beetle is a wood-chewing beetle that prefers hardwoods and favors maple, ash, horse chestnut, poplar, elm, poplar, willow and black locust. There are several beetles native to North America that look like the Asian long-horned bBeetle such as the pine sawyer beetle and the cottonwood borer beetle; however, these beetle species are not threatening to the life of the tree, unlike the Asian long-horned. This beetle gnaws through the water-carrying tissue of the tree and results in the tree dying from the top down.

Lifecycle

• Mature females chew deep depressions into the bark of healthy hardwoods and lay between 40 and 90 eggs. Once the eggs hatch in 10 to 15 days, the larva feed on the healthy tree fibers until spring when the larva pupate to emerge as mature adults. During the adult stage, the Asian long-horned beetle then prepares for mating by feeding on the exterior of the tree. The beetles are active between late spring and early fall and die after a one-year life cycle.

Arrival and Control Methods

• Asian long-horned beetles have been accidentally imported into the United States inside the pallets and shipping woods used to transport international cargo. There have been isolated infestations of this beetle in New York City and Illinois since the late 90s. And because these beetles are fatal to the trees they infest, federal, state and local agriculture departments are involved in attempting to control infestation outbreaks. The only effective method of eradication is by cutting and burning infected and neighboring trees.