The adult beetle is approximately 1-1½" in total body length. It is shiny and black in color and it has white spots on its back. The antennae are longer than the body of the males (female antennae may only be as long as the body) and each antennal segment alternates between white and black. Sometimes in life, the feet and antennae of the insect may appear blue. Pupae are white to brown and look vaguely like adults. Larvae are cream colored to white, segmented, and have dark colored mouthparts. Eggs are approximately the size of a grain of rice and also white to cream colored. In Massachusetts, adult beetles start to emerge from trees around July 1st and may be active into the late fall. Female beetles will chew individual "notches" in the bark of trees and lay an egg in each of these sites. Larvae (immatures) soon emerge and feed under the bark by tunneling. Later, in the fall, they tunnel deep into the wood where they spend the winter. They pupate in late spring, after spending either 1 or 2 seasons tunneling in and damaging the host. (Depending upon temperatures, the life cycle of this insect can take 1 or 2 years to complete.) Round exit holes are created by the emerging adults.
The larvae of this insect create galleries (or tunnels) within host trees which can sometimes be visible as C-shaped sections where bark has been removed. These tunnels compromise the strength of the tree and may lead to tree girdling, failure, and death. Adults emerge from perfectly round exit holes measuring 3/8 inch in diameter where sometimes copious amounts of tiny match stick-like frass can be seen falling out and getting caught in forked branches. Adult females will chew pits or egg sites where they will lay 1 egg per site (mandible marks can be seen on the edges).
Monitoring for and reporting the Asian longhorned beetle is the first and only recommended method of managing this insect. This is a federally regulated pest (regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture; USDA-APHIS) as well as a state regulated pest (regulated by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation; DCR). To report an Asian longhorned beetle find online or compare it to common insect look-alikes, visit: http://massnrc.org/pests/albreport.aspx or https://www.aphis.usda.gov/pests-diseases/alb .
See monitoring section above.
None available at this time.
None. See monitoring section above.
If you believe you have found an Asian longhorned beetle or the damage it causes, please call: 1-508-852-8090 or toll free at 1-866-702-9938. To report an Asian longhorned beetle find online, visit: http://massnrc.org/pests/albreport.aspx or https://www.aphis.usda.gov/pests-diseases/alb . For more information, please visit: https://ag.umass.edu/fact-sheets/asian-longhorned-beetle .
