Expert Wary Of Beetle Infestation | Kevin Sullivan, Horticulturist-Owner, Chestnut Hill Nursery, Stafford Springs

You participated in an extensive training session for Asian longhorned beetle awareness conducted by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in conjunction with the USDA. What is the immediate threat posed by the Asian longhorned beetle?

The immediate threat is, if it should it arrive in Connecticut, it poses a large risk not only to our state forests but a huge economic risk to the nursery, forestry and maple sugar industry in excess of $500 million. This is a result of the harsh reality that large quarantine areas are created to help sequester the spread of the Asian longhorned beetle.

You cite a statistic that an outbreak in Worcester resulted in 24,000 trees being cut down because of infestation. Are there any trees left in Worcester? And, what would it cost to replace all of those trees at once?

Yes, there are numerous species of trees that are left unaffected from the outbreak, but we must remember that in the United States, the Asian longhorned beetle prefers maples, birch, Ohio buckeye, elms, horse chestnut and willows. The resulting economic impact for Worcester for replacement would be easily in excess of $10 million.

It takes a couple of years to kill a tree. Is it too late to fight the infestation? Do we just sit and wait for the trees to die?

The most important consideration in Asian longhorned beetle awareness isn’t the individual tree because it’s only known remedy is complete eradication. The focus of Asian longhorned beetle awareness month (August 2009) is to make sure that the spread of the beetle doesn’t occur. If anyone thinks that they might have seen this insect anywhere in their travels,they should immediately contact the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at (877) 855-2237. Their trained entomologists are willing and able to assist with this matter.

An Internet blog says up to one-third of trees in the Northeast are at risk and the infestation can spread from firewood being trucked around New England. Do Asian beetles thrive in firewood piles? Why is this a problem?

They do not develop in the firewood but are actually transported as juvenile Asian longhorned beetles that reside within the core of the infected trees and can easily emerge as an adult from the infected firewood. Not only are one-third of our native forests at risk, some of the urban forests could have up to a 60 percent loss.

A report said the beetle may have been around for 10 years before being detected. What’s the next insect threat to our horticulture?

In conjunction with Asian longhorned beetles awareness, the governor and state Department of Environmental Protection have brought to the public’s awareness another major threat: Emerald Ash Borer.

What’s the impact on the horticulture business from this kind of infestation? Does it actually end up being good for business? After all, you want to protect nature, but you still want to earn a living, too.

The financial risk of both an infestation and the subsequent quarantine easily outweighs any potential income. This is why the Connecticut nursery industry is assisting all governmental agencies in Asian longhorned beetles awareness.