Town/State Hold Training Session to Combat Possible Asian Longhorned Beetle Infestation

            Albertson, NY – Supervisor Jon Kaiman co-hosted a meeting today at Clark Gardens held to combat the threat of the Asian Longhorned Beetle, which poses a danger to a large variety of hardwood trees, in North Hempstead and neighboring areas. The meeting was a joint training session run by both the Town of North Hempstead and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to discuss the dangers posed by the beetle and current quarantine methods.

            "This training session marks the first step in our efforts to combat the threat of an invasion by the Asian Longhorned Beetle will pose to the ecology of our town," said Supervisor Jon Kaiman.  "Anyone who feels they have sited a beetle is asked to call the United States Department of Agriculture at (631) 598-5943."

            The Asian Longhorned Beetle is native to China and Korea, but has been introduced into New York, where it is foreign to the established ecosystem. It is a glossy black insect with white sports and black and white antennae and can be as large as an inch. Adults are most often seen from late spring to fall, depending on the climate.

            Supervisor Kaiman added, "No chemical method has been found yet to kill the Asian Longhorned Beetle. As a result, the only way currently known to contain the pest is to destroy trees known to be infested and establish quarantines in infected areas, which prevent any trees or wood from leaving the quarantined area. Quarantine areas have already been established in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Islip and Amityville.  What concerns us most is that the eastern boundary of the Queens quarantine borders the Town of North Hempstead."  

            The Asian Longhorned Beetle poses a threat to a large number of hardwood trees, both young and mature. The beetles chew through the trees and lay eggs inside them, disrupting the sap flow that trees need to survive and critically weakening them as a result. The beetles most often attack maple, willow, elm, buckeye and horse chestnut trees. They are also known to threaten birch, sycamore, mimosa, silk, hackberry, poplar, ash, and mountain-ash trees.