The Asian Longhorned Beetle is a large, bullet shaped beetle with long curving antennae. Shiny and black with white spots, the beetle is harmless to humans and animals, but in its larval stage bores large holes in trees that cause sap to flow out of them, eventually resulting in the trees' death. The Asian Longhorned Beetle prefers hardwood trees such as maples, willow, ash, elm and birch. http://beetlebusters.info/FAQs.php

The Asian Longhorned Beetle originates in China, Korea and Japan. The pest is believed to have traveled to the United States in pallets and other wood packing materials used to ship goods from Asia to the United States. As of 1998 all packing material coming from China has to be certified by the Chinese government as being treated to kill the Asian Longhorned Beetle before being unloaded in the United States. http://beetlebusters.info/FAQs.php

Female Asian longhorned beetles can lay 35 to 90 eggs at a time, the eggs hatching in 10 to 15 days. The white grubs that emerge from the eggs develop into caterpillars that then burrow into the cambium layer of the tree and feed for several weeks before continuing deeper into the tree's xylem layer. The caterpillars continue to feed during the winter and pupate the following spring. Adult beetles emerge in the summer to mate, and perish the following fall. http://www.uvm.edu/albeetle/walb.pdf Although they can fly, the beetles rarely travel great distances. They prefer to mate and lay eggs on the tree they developed in and emerged from, although they have been known to travel short distances to other host trees. http://www.massnrc.org/pests/albdocs/ALBPestAlertUSDA.pdf

Since the Asian Longhorned Beetle spends most of its life deep inside the tree, traditional pesticideapplications are ineffective at controlling the pest. Current control methods call for the cutting down and chipping of host trees. Areas that are known to be infested are quarantined, and wood, including firewood, nursery stock, wood debris and lumber are not allowed to be moved out of them. http://beetlebusters.info/FAQs.php