Asian Longhorn Beetle

[Battenkiller]

I found two hitchhikers in my wood so far. Not sure which dealer they came in with. One came from Schoharie County, one for Washington County, both in NY. I suspect the black birch I got from a guy in Washington Co. because the only other wood I've gotten this season is white ash, and they aren't supposed to be big on attacking ash trees.

Are these bugs resistant to pesticides? I want to spray all my wood so none of these critters get out into the wild to spread. Problem is that all of the black birch is under two feet of snow, so it will be pretty hard to spray it.

Any advice? I really don't want to let these things get out to spread their destruction.

 

[chinkapin_oak]

Call the DNR ASAP. they need to know about it so they can prevent further spread.

 

[loon]

here is a little info as to what happened over here but i havent heard much more lately.

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Forests/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_166979.html

•Insecticides do not protect infested trees and only kill some beetles when applied to uninfested trees before attack.



loon

 

[Battenkiller]

H-mmmm...

Sounds like I need to alert my firewood dealers and have them look through the woodlots they were cutting out of for any damage to live trees. I have not noticed a single exit hole in any of my wood, so I suspect these were just hitchhikers that came along for the ride. The guy I got the ash from is a commercial logger who cuts plenty of maple for sale to veneer mills, so there could have been a few beetles in his truck bed that crawled onto my wood. I actually noticed these fellers the day after I brought in several hand carts of that ash. At any rate, I stopped buying wood from him after looking on the map and finding that he was transporting the wood more than 50 miles to my home. I will spray my leftover wood with a strong insecticide in the spring, just in case there are more adults hiding in it.

The thing that freaks me out about this bug is that it attacks a much broader range of species than most imports do. It seems to like maples the best, and I shudder to think what might happen if they get out of control. Vast areas of NY, New England and Canada are very heavily populated with maples of some sort. Their loss would have an incalculable effect on our forests and on our economy.

Thanks for the link, Loon. I'll call NY DEC and see what they tell me. Unfortunately, I smashed the first one without thinking, and my wife flushed the second one down the toilet before I could stop her. Which reminds me of a funny story:


About 10 years ago, I was in school actively pursuing my degree in biology. During summer break, all I wanted to do was go fly fishing to clear my mind of the stress that came from three kids with two parents both trying to get degrees at the same time on a shoestring budget. One particularly hot day, I was fishing on the Battenkill River wearing just light pants and wading boots. I picked up a leech and didn't notice it until I took my pants off at home. By then, it was fully engorged and the size of a mini-hotdog. It freaked me out so much that I just smacked it off my leg and flushed it down the toilet. The wound oozed blood for about a day, then it started to look kinda bad. It was swelling and there was the beginnings of signs of blood poisoning, so I went to my doctor and got put on antibiotics.

When we went back to school in the fall, I told my bio mentor Dr. Brown about the incident. He was fascinated and wanted to see the scar. It was still pretty nasty, and he said he'd never seen that happen before. Then he asked, "Now, you preserved the leech, didn't you?" "Well, no.... I actually flushed it down the toilet." He got a real stern look on his face, then he reached out and cuffed me on the back of the head. "What kind of scientist are you? Always save the specimen." :lol: God, I miss that man.

 

[Jutt77]

I found two hitchhikers in my wood so far. Not sure which dealer they came in with. One came from Schoharie County, one for Washington County, both in NY. I suspect the black birch I got from a guy in Washington Co. because the only other wood I've gotten this season is white ash, and they aren't supposed to be big on attacking ash trees.

Are these bugs resistant to pesticides? I want to spray all my wood so none of these critters get out into the wild to spread. Problem is that all of the black birch is under two feet of snow, so it will be pretty hard to spray it.

Any advice? I really don't want to let these things get out to spread their destruction.

Not sure, permethrin kills pine beetles so it may work on Longhorns. Otherwise, big bonfire?!

 

[Battenkiller]

Not sure, permethrin kills pine beetles so it may work on Longhorns. Otherwise, big bonfire?!

Thanks, I'll try that. Regarding the bonfire, can I do it 3-4 splits at a time inside a big cast iron box?

 

[dave11]

Are you 100% sure they are the ALB? Some other beetles look similar.

Also, before you go calling anyone, you need to realize that once they come to your property, they can drop/remove any tree they want, and take any/all your firewood.

Just sayin'

 

[loon]

Are you 100% sure they are the ALB? Some other beetles look similar.

Also, before you go calling anyone, you need to realize that once they come to your property, they can drop/remove any tree they want, and take any/all your firewood.

Just sayin'

same thing with mad cow :shut:


loon

 

[Battenkiller]

Well, they already took all my cows, so now I can't eat. If they take my firewood l'll freeze to death. Best bet is to burn the evidence, I guess. :roll:

 

[CarbonNeutral]

Are you 100% sure they are the ALB? Some other beetles look similar.

Also, before you go calling anyone, you need to realize that once they come to your property, they can drop/remove any tree they want, and take any/all your firewood.

Just sayin'

http://www.uvm.edu/albeetle/identification/index.html

I've seen plenty of the Whitespotted Pine Sawyer, but no ALB yet...

 

[Jutt77]

Are you 100% sure they are the ALB? Some other beetles look similar.

Also, before you go calling anyone, you need to realize that once they come to your property, they can drop/remove any tree they want, and take any/all your firewood.

Just sayin'

Good point. You may want to take a specimen to a Entomologist around there first before you go burning all of your wood. Try a local university or something. Or post a pic of on here and someone should be able to properly ID it.

 

[Battenkiller]

I glad that NY has imposed a 50-mile radius as a quarantine zone. This is just one possible example of how violating that zone could spread any of these pests. But what really burns my rump is reading about how they get here in the first place. In China, they have caused so much damage to the poplars that over 40% have been lost. The wood from these tress has no commercial value except for... you guessed it - packing crates. We can quarantine trees stateside, while still refusing to stop them at the source because we are so dependent on China for just about everything we consume. We really need to tighten up our belts and get American business thriving again or we are all in deep doo-doo. :-S

 

[EatenByLimestone]

ALB and EAB have not shown up in Scary county yet. EAB is expected shortly though. I didn't think ALB had moved north of NYC.

If you see any more, throw them in a jar and put it in the freezer. If it is an ALB it needs to be known.

Matt

 

[loon]

last bunch of years here we have been getting our polly on plastic skids..thought it was a no brainer??

loon

 

[Battenkiller]

Got one!

I sprayed real heavily and one came staggering out of the stack of ash. Not ALB. Seems to be the White Spotted Sawyer according to the pics online. Blame the scare on Lady BK. After she flushed the one last night, she looked at pics and swore it was an ALB. This guy looks the same as the one I squished, same size as well. Body to thorax is about 15 MM, total length is 20 MM, width about 6 mm. Too small. Markings are all wrong as well, and it has a bronze colored back like the WSS. I'll post pics tomorrow. At least my wood is well fumigated. :lol:

Thanks so much for the advice, guys. This would have been real bad if I couldn't get on top of these things, and I may have lost all my firewood. I doubt New York would have replaced it, probably would have charged me for thr wood removal. I got to thinking, though, what if it was the real deal and I got a load of wood and stored it outside for a couple years. Next thing you know, all our maples in the area are dying and I caused it. There are some advantages to handling my firewood the way I do, and this is one. By taking it inside, I was able to detect the foreign invader, identify it, and then kill off its siblings... or what ever bugs call each other. Most folks worry about bringing bugs inside. From now on, I'll be worrying about about leaving them outside. :roll:

 

[phatfarmerbob]

what we really need to worry about is the ALB that is riding up from long island stuck to the radiator of some land rover headed for the catskills for the weekend... its conceivable

 

[Battenkiller]

Pics! Man, these things don't die easily. This gal was still kicking when I took the photo 16 hours after getting hit with the spray. She is in critical but stable condition, and is expected to make a complete recovery. :lol:

 

[EatenByLimestone]

You're in luck. It's not ALB.

My guess is a pine sawyer.




Matt

 

[Jutt77]

You're in luck. It's not ALB.

My guess is a pine sawyer.




Matt

Yep, I agree....the white dot at the top end of the wing covers seals the deal, no ALB. I'm glad you didnt have to burn up all your wood BK, nice ending to this!

 

[Battenkiller]

I'm golden! I love it.

This thing really got me uptight for the last few days. It's not just the wood. I can buy more, or burn those compressed bricks for the rest of the season. Just knowing that the act of buying firewood could possibly have disastrous and unforeseen consequences is a real eye opener. There were other things at stake as well. The guy I got the ash from is a real nice and hardworking guy. He practically lives in the woods, doing this for over thirty years, starting at his dad's side when he was a teenager. I would have had to give the DEC his phone number so they could pinpoint the location. If he was past the 50 mile radius he probably didn't even realize it, but DEC sure would have fined the hell out of him, made him pay for the entire cleanup. I might have lost a year's firewood, but he might have lost his lifelong business.

Lots of other things could have gone wrong and didn't, but one thing's for sure..... I will never again mistake a White Spotted Sawyer for an ALB. :roll:

 

[Mrs. Krabappel]

Then he asked, "Now, you preserved the leech, didn't you?" "Well, no.... I actually flushed it down the toilet." He got a real stern look on his face, then he reached out and cuffed me on the back of the head. "What kind of scientist are you? Always save the specimen." :lol: God, I miss that man.

:lol: Love it. My degree is bio too. My favorite line in Avatar was when the Grace was dying at the Tree of Souls and she said "I should be taking samples."

Glad it worked out okay for you.