Beetle invasion threatens New England trees
Pastor Dale Morgan
Beetle invasion threatens New England trees*
By RODRIQUE NGOWI,
Associated Press Writer
WORCESTER, Mass. - A wood-devouring beetle has gained a foothold in New
England, and authorities plan to cut down large numbers of infested
trees and grind them up to stop the pest from spreading to the region's
celebrated forests and ravaging the timber, tourism and maple-syrup
industries.
The infestation of Asian longhorned beetles in the Worcester area marks
the fourth time the pests have been found in trees in the U.S. and the
closest they have ever come to the great New England woods that erupt in
dazzling, tourist-pleasing colors in the fall.
"This insect scares us to death because if it ever got loose in the
forests of New England, it would be just about impossible to contain and
it'd change the landscape dramatically," said Tom McCrum, coordinator of
the Massachusetts Maple Syrup Association.
Calling it a national emergency, federal authorities have committed
themselves to spending tens of millions of dollars to fight the
invasion. They have sent in smokejumpers, tree climbers and other
experts to identify infested trees.
The affected area now covers 62 square miles around Worcester and four
neighboring towns, and at least 1,800 trees have been tagged for
destruction.
The outbreak was detected this summer, after Donna Massie spotted
beetles on a tree in her backyard in Worcester. She caught one, searched
online to identify it, then called agriculture authorities. Now her tree
is riddled with dime-size holes.
"It looks like someone opened fire with a machine gun," Massie, 53, said
of the signature exit holes gnawed away by the bullet-shaped black
beetle with white freckles, long antennae and a voracious appetite for
hardwood.
The beetles first appeared in the U.S. in 1996 in Brooklyn, probably
arriving in the wood of a shipping crate from China, and have since
shown up in New York's Central Park and parts of New Jersey and
Illinois. Authorities believe that the Massachusetts infestation is
unrelated but that the beetles probably arrived the same way.
Eradication efforts in New York, New Jersey and Illinois have cost $268
million over the past 11 years. Thousands of trees have been cut down.
The beetles have no natural predators in North America, and regular
insecticides are useless once the eggs hatch in hardwoods such as birch,
poplar, willow, sycamore, maple and elm.
The beetles lay their eggs in small depressions they chew in tree bark.
The larvae and pupae consume the tree from the inside, leaving a trail
of tunnels. They eventually chew their way out as adults. The tunneling
slowly kills the tree.
"The movement of firewood is probably, in my mind, the biggest threat in
this area because so many people burn wood, so many people move wood
without thinking, `Oh, I could be transporting a pest,'" said Tom
Denholm, who has set up a federal program to fight the insects in New
Jersey and was sent to Massachusetts to help with efforts here. "We can
move the beetle a lot faster moving firewood than the beetle moving on
its own."
Earlier this month, Rhode Island officials found a larva in firewood
taken from Worcester to Cranston.
The beetle strikes fear in tourism and maple-syrup officials.
New England accounted for more than half the maple syrup made in the
U.S. last year, with Vermont out-producing all other states in the
region with a half-million gallons. Vermont Maple Sugar Makers
Association spokeswoman Catherine Stevens said the beetle could be
devastating to the industry if it were to spread.
Leaf peeping, likewise, is big business in New England as thousands of
visitors arrive in the fall to see forests riotous with reds, oranges
and yellows. The beetle's favorite food happens to be the red and sugar
maples that produce the most vivid colors.
Also vulnerable would be Maine's timber industry, which directly
contributes $6.5 billion to the state's economy. Of the 17.7 million
acres of forest in Maine, more than half is hardwood that could be
susceptible to the beetle.
"This is a threat we are taking very seriously," said Dave Struble of
the Maine Forest Service.
Experts in Massachusetts say they cannot cut down the trees until the
frost kills the adult beetles. The trees will be ground up, a process
that generates enough heat to kill any eggs or larvae. The wood chips
can then be used as mulch or burned for energy.
Federal officials plan to replace the cut-down trees with a variety of
species not susceptible to the beetle.
That is little consolation to Worcester residents who fear they will see
property values plummet in neighborhoods cherished for their tree-lined
streets and lush backyards, City Manager Michael O'Brien said.
"It's going to take 30 to 40 years to get all those same characteristics
back," he said.