Asian longhorned beetle

Big, creepy, and horned, the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) loves to feed on—and kill—coconut and other palms, banana plants, and more. This invasive species, detected in Hawaii in December 2013, makes the perfect poster child for USDA’s Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month—a child only...

Today is National Maple Syrup Day! So, what does maple syrup have in common with an invasive insect? Well, if the insect is the Asian longhorned beetle, then they both can come from maple trees. Obviously, we want the maple syrup and not the invasive beetle. But who cares? And why should anyone care...

From the moment an Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) infests a tree, there is no cure. No amount of treatments will drive this deadly pest from the comfort of America’s heartwood, leaving thousands of trees dead and dying in the northeastern U.S. However, as bleak as this may sound, there is a way to...

Does your job relate to the activities you enjoy in your personal life? Mine does. In fact, no matter what challenges I’ve faced over the years, I’ve been able to stay sane because I am doing what I love to do, and I keep a positive mental attitude.

My name is Thunder. Not too many months ago, I was homeless and waiting for someone to take me home from the Houston Beagle Rescue in Houston, Texas. Then, a nice lady from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s National Detector Dog Training Center (NDDTC) in Newnan, Georgia came to visit...

APHIS recognizes Ingram Carner with a certificate of appreciation for being the first person in the United States to spot the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB). ALB experts Joseph Gittleman of APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarrantine program and Joan Mahoney of the New York State Department of...

A free curriculum available online can help educators teach students how to spot the invasive Asian longhorned beetle. Infestations of the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) have been initially reported by alert members of communities in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Massachusetts. As summer...

The Asian Longhorned Beetle eradication staff in Worcester looks for pests up in the tree but also leaves presents under the tree. The Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) eradication program in Worcester, Mass., began when a resident from the Greendale neighborhood found a strange-looking insect in her...

The Forest Service’s i-Tree Pest Detection software, due to be released next week, is going to help urban foresters curb the spread of invasive species and the dead trees left in their wake. Cities and communities are frequently the first site of introduction for exotic pests, where they remain...

While many USDA Forest Service employees spend their summers working as Smokejumpers fighting wildfires in the west, they in turn spend their falls in the east working as Beetle Busters, helping the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) combat the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB).