The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) was discovered attacking trees in Ohio in July, 2011. This invasive pest was first spotted by the operator of a vineyard located in the Town of Batavia in Clermont County, Ohio. Tree surveys conducted by the USDA-FS since July have confirmed 5,000 trees have been infested by the ALB. They further estimate that up to 50,000 trees -most of them located on private property- may have to be felled in order to eradicate this pest in Clermont County. Ohio is the 5th state to declare an ALB infestation. The others are Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Speaking of Massachusetts, the Commonwealth is now in the 4th year of its battle to eliminate this very troublesome exotic pest from Worcester, Suffolk and Norfolk Counties. Since August 2008 when the ALB was initially discovered, a total of 1.5 million host trees have been inspected in these three counties. In 2008 and 2009, these inspections identified a total of 17,000 infested trees. This figure declined in 2010 to 2,200 infested trees and reached an all-time low in 2011 (1,152 infested trees). This drop in new infestations over the past three years shows the eradication program is working according to USDA-FS officials. One of the main tools used as part of the ALB eradication strategy is to treat pest-free host trees with insecticide. As of the end of 2011, a total of 135,000 trees have been treated.

The fallout from the ALB invasion has been particularly hard on the Commonwealth, but none more so than with the residents who live in the Town of Worcester. These residents have witnessed the loss of a nearly 36,000 trees from their urban forest since 2008, when this pest was first discovered. This loss has devastated the appearance of many neighborhoods in Worcester. Now a recently published report shows that this loss has also had an impact on homeowner energy costs. The study used aerial photography to first measure the difference in percent canopy cover in Worcester's Burncoat neighborhood before and after the ALB instigated tree removal campaign took place (2008 and 2009). Next, the researchers used utility bills to determine how much energy was used by homeowners for winter heating and summer cooling over the same period. When the data was tabulated, the results were staggering. Not only did the percent canopy cover drop between 88% and 92% in parts of the Burncoat neighborhood, but the homeowner energy demand as measured by kilowatt hours increased anywhere from 67% to 140%. This increased energy demand was costly as well. The findings revealed that the total monetary loss (higher energy costs) in the entire 6-block Burncoat neighborhood as a result of the tree removal was $9,198. The lesson here is that while "Trees Are Cool" the ALB is not!! Visit http://massnrc.org/pests/alb/ for the complete Burncoat neighborhood study.

Become a Beetle Buster! Find out how.