June 30, 2009                Asian Longhorned Beetle Sentinel Tree Project

The Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) is an exotic pest, native to China and Korea that threatens our forest resources and community trees. It attacks a wide variety of hardwoods including but not limited to maple, birch, polar, elm and horsechestnut. Infestations in the US have occurred in New York, Illinois, New Jersey and more recently Worcester, Massachusetts. This latter infestation is about 30 miles from our NH border and encompasses 64 square miles and has already required the removal of over 20,000 trees.

To the best of our knowledge ALB has not been found to occur here in New Hampshire. All major ALB infestations have been found by the public. In most cases the beetles have had ample time to become established before being detected. Public awareness is crucial for helping to increase the liklihood of earl detection. The sentinel tree project is another attempt to educate the general public and in particular the green industry professionals about ALB detection methods.

The project is based on Mike Smith's (ARS insect behaviorist) work on developing ways to detect ALB. Mike's data indicates that a particular maple tree, Acer mono, is very attractive to ALB. The trees are even more attractive than Norway maple, their most preferred host here i the US. This project aims to educate local nurserymen about specific ALB host trees and sentinel tree surveying techniques. The trees will ultimately be used to help lure the beetles out to confirm their presence.

The Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth, NH and Rolling Green Nursery in Greenland, NH have been selected for an A. mono planting scheduled for June 30th. The program is being spearheaded by the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food in partnership with the UNH Cooperative Extension Service and NH Plant Growers Association and NH Urban Forestry.