Anoplophora glabripennis

Asian longhorned beetle

Description

The Asian long-horned beetle belongs to the larger species of long-horned beetle. The body of the imago ranges from 25 mm (mostly males) to 35 mm (mostly females). The antennae of females are 1.3 times and males 2.5 times as long as the body of the insect. The body is shiny black with 10 to 20 irregular white spots on the black wing covers. The larval galleries are very similar to the galleries of other long-horned beetle species. They are unnoticeable under the bark, oval-shaped, gradually spread with the growth of the larva up to 30 cm long, extend into the core wood. At the end of the larval gallery in the wood near the bark is a pupal chamber.

In Europe, development usually takes two years, but in the warmer years, it can be reduced to 1.5 years. The imagines leave the galleries in May to October and live for one to two months. They usually remain on the tree in which they developed or fly over to neighboring trees. They do not fly over long distances (up to 250 to 500 m). However, when they disperse, they can travel up to approximately 1 to 3 km (Smith et al., 2002) from their host tree. The female lays 30 - 60 eggs (occasionally up to 200). After two weeks, the larvae hatch. They first feed in the cambial area, but more mature larvae tunnel to the heartwood as they feed.

Symptom

Exit holes about 1 cm in diameter.

Infested trees can be recognized by the maturity feeding of beetles on twigs, traces of feeding on the surface of the bark (females lay eggs in the gnawed areas), and the outflow of sap from the larval tunnels in the cambial zone. Larval activity is recognized by galleries under the bark and, later, tunnels in the wood. Masses of wood shavings extruding from round exit holes are signs that adults have emerged from infested wood. The wood shavings extruded from the galleries often accumulate at the base of the infested tree trunk. The trees are more infested on the southern side of the trunk. Here can be found large exit holes, usually in the middle and top of the tree. The resin leaking from the wounds (after the beetle feeding in the bark) attracts secondary pests and can be a fungal infection source. Infested trees with reduced turgor have smaller leaves that turn yellow, hang and fall off, while the canopy cover of stands is significantly reduced. Wood damaged by long-horned beetle larvae can be considerably devalued. Mechanically weakened branches on infested trees are easily broken. Weakening the structural strength of wood by larvae feeding on trees in an urban environment (cities, villages, etc.) presents a significant danger to pedestrians, cars, and buildings by broken branches.

Tree Species: Elm, Birch, Cherry, Pear, Apple Tree, Maple, Alder, Horse Chestnut, Poplar, Willow

Part of a plant- attacked: Tree trunk

Pest significance: Very harmful

Pest Category: Insects

Invasive Species: Yes

Present in EU: Yes