Press Releases

Daniel J. Parry (301) 734-3255
Jerry Redding (202) 720-6959

USDA TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS TO ADDRESS INSECTICIDE TREATMENTS TO COMBAT ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2001--The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Cooperative Asian Longhorned Beetle Project will hold public meetings March 26 and 27 in Suffolk and Nassau Counties in New York to discuss upcoming insecticide treatments to combat Asian longhorned beetle.

The Suffolk County meeting will be held March 26 between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. at the Town Hall Annex auditorium located at 401 Main Street, Islip, N.Y.

The Nassau County meeting will be held March 27 between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. at McKenna Elementary School located on Spruce Street between Roosevelt and 2nd Avenue in Massapequa Park, N.Y. Presentations by project officials will be followed by a moderated question and answer period.

Treatments are completed by project officials and are delivered by injecting the insecticide imidacloprid into the base of host trees via small capsules. Through the tree's own circulatory system, the insecticide is dispersed throughout the tree. This process enables the insecticide to reach Asian longhorned beetle adults and larvae as they feed on small twigs and beneath the bark of host trees.

Imidacloprid is currently used in store-bought lawn and garden products to kill lawn grubs and in some domestic pet flea treatments.

The Asian longhorned beetle, native to China, bores into healthy hardwood trees and feeds on living tree tissue during the larval stage. Later, throughout the summer, adult beetles emerge from exit holes and briefly feed on the small twigs of host trees. To fight this destructive pest, agriculture officials removed and destroyed more than 5,000 trees in and around New York City and more than 1,400 trees in the Chicago area. Tree destruction has been the only method for controlling this beetle since its initial U.S. discovery in New York in 1996 and in Illinois in 1998. APHIS officials are optimistic that using imidacloprid will decrease beetle populations and future tree loss but advise that, if a tree is found to be infested, it will be removed regardless of treatment. The goal is to eradicate this highly destructive insect from New York and Illinois before it can establish itself elsewhere.

For more information on the Asian longhorned beetle or imidacloprid, visit the APHIS website at www.aphis.usda.gov and click on Asian longhorned beetle under "Hot Issues." For information concerning public meetings or to report an Asian longhorned beetle sighting, please call (631) 598-5943.

The Cooperative Asian Longhorned Beetle Project is comprised of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.