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Global Invasive Species Team listserve digest #049
Sat, 11 Dec 1999 10:12:23 -0800 (PST)
--CONTENTS--
1. Invasive Insect Problems? Advice Available!
2. Asian longhorned beetle - invasive threat to native trees
3. More help with knotweed please
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1. Invasive Insect Problems? Advice Available!
From: John Randall (jarandall(at)ucdavis.edu)
Since its inception in 1991, TNC's weed program has focused on - surprise!
- weeds. Because we got lucky and hired an entomologist as a program
assistant earlier this year, we now have the opportunity to expand our
coverage to insects. If you have or suspect you soon may have problems
with invasive insects we encourage you to direct questions and requests
for advice to TunyaLee Morisawa here in our office. TunyaLee works
half-time for TNC and is completing her MS in Entomology here at UC Davis.
Her research and career interests focus on the biology and integrated
management of pest insects. She researched and wrote excellent short
reports on several weed species for some of you and is now ready to
provide the same kind of service on the invaders she knows best - insects.
An abbreviated version of her write-up on an invader that was in the
national news this past summer, the Asian Longhorned Beetle, is item #2 in
this listserve. You may contact TunyaLee at tamorisawa(at)ucdavis.edu or by
phone at 530-754-8891.
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2. Asian longhorned beetle - invasive threat to native trees
From: TunyaLee Morisawa (tamorisawa(at)ucdavis.edu)
The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky),
is believed to have been introduced to the US in 1996 from China. This
non-native beetle poses a threat to urban and rural forests in much of the
US, Mexico and southern Canada. Larvae of the beetle tunnel throughout
the tree resulting in limb breakage, dieback of the tree crown, and tree
death. Chemical control methods have been ineffective. Therefore,
control of established populations of ALB is currently limited to removing
whole trees.
Reproducing populations of A. glabripennis have been found in New York
City and Chicago. ALB has also been intercepted at several ports scattered
across North America. In 1997, insects in the genus Anoplophora were
found in wooden spools and packing material imported into British
Columbia, Ontario, California, North Carolina, Ohio, Washington, Michigan
and New York. ALB made the national news last summer when hundreds of
large old trees in a Chicago area neighborhood had to be cut down and
destroyed to control an infestation discovered there. Climatic zones that
support ALB populations in China are similar to those zones in North
America that encompass the area from the Great Lakes to southern Mexico
(Haack, 1997). In the US a complete host list has not been determined but
the beetle prefers maples, including Norway, red, silver, sugar and
sycamore maple and boxelders. ALB is also known to feed on horse
chestnut, black locust, elms, birches, willows, poplars and ashes.
A. glabripennis is a bullet-shaped beetle, 20-35 mm in length and 7-12 mm
wide. The cuticle is glossy black and smooth with microscopic dimples.
Both males and females have up to 20 irregular white dots on the elytra
(hard wing covers). Antennae may be 5 to 7.5 cm long. Both sexes have
distinctly banded white and black segments on the antennae. Both males
and females have bluish-white legs, with the color especially prominent on
the dorsal surface.
Surveys for ALB should concentrate on searching for exit and entry holes
in tree trunks. Dime-sized holes that ooze sap are a sign of ALB.
Often, piles of frass (insect waste) and sawdust accumulate in the
crotches of infested trees. Look for unseasonable yellowing or drooping
leaves. Since chemical controls are ineffective, removing trees and then
chipping and burning them is the only means to eliminate established
populations. Removing trees prevents the spread of ALB to adjacent trees.
As with many insect pests, early detection and rapid treatment are
necessary for successful eradication of ALB. If you suspect a tree may be
infested with ALB, contact one or more of the following: your County
Extension Office; State Department of Agriculture; State Plant Regulatory
Official; State Entomologist; State Forester or Department of Natural
Resources; USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) or,
USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ).
Contact TunyaLee or Barry Rice (bamrice(at)ucdavis.edu) for a copy of
TunyaLee's full 4-page report on the Asian longhorned beetle.
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3. More help with knotweed please
From: Jonathan Soll (jsoll(at)tnc.org)
Can any of you all with unfortunate life experience with
Japanese/Giant/Himalayan knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) tell me if it
successfully invades established riparian vegetation, or does it only
increase into disturbed areas?