Other Common Names: Killer Asian Longhorned Beetle, killer ALB, Brood X ALB, New York City Godzilla ALB, Killer Beetle

Latin Name: Anoplophora giganteous glabripennis

Specimen collected by: The United States Department of Agriculture

Origin: Greenpoint area, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Specimen’s collected Date: August 12, 2002

Size: 2-5/8 x 1 inch (matrix is 2-5/8 x 1-1/2 inch), 65 x 28 mm (matrix is 7.0 x 6.5 cm). This specimen is an adult female.

Description of the specimen: The Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) was first found by an unsuspected landlord of an apartment building in Greenpoint area of Brooklyn, New York in the United States in 1996. Scientists believe it came to the United States by way of wood crating and shipping pallets that originated in China. In Asia, the beetle is a major pest of poplar plantations. The beetle also attacks a large range of tree species in North America, including maple, elm, willow, horsechestnut, mulberry, birch, green ash, sycamore, and London planetree. Like chestnut blight and Dutch elm disease, the Asian longhorned beetle has the potential to severely deplete our precious urban forests and permanently change our hardwood forests. The Chinese name for the Asian longhorned beetle translates to “Starry Sky beetle,” a description of the beetle’s shiny black body and white spots. The beetles are large, up to one and a half inches in length, with long black-and-white banded antennae. The threat to trees begins when adult females lay eggs under the bark of host trees. After the eggs hatch, the larvae bore extensive tunnels into the tree’s center as they feed and grow. In the spring, the larvae emerge as adult beetles, creating round exit holes that measure up to half an inch in diameter. The newly emerged adults feed and mate. The adult females may fly to new trees or lay eggs in the trees from which they emerged. Then the life cycle of the Asian longhorned beetle begins again, and the relentless tunneling by generations of larvae kills healthy trees within a few years of first becoming infested.

In addition to Greenpoint area of Brooklyn, New York, the Asian longhorned beetle has also been found in Bayside, Queens (February 1999), Flushing, Queens (July 1999), the Upper East Side of Manhattan (August 1999), the Lower East Side of Manhattan (June 2000), Corona, Queens (July 2000), and Murray Hill in Manhattan (October 2001). Outside of New York City, the Asian longhorned beetle has been found infesting urban trees in Amityville, New York; Chicago, Illinois (July 1998), and Braunau, Austria (July 2001). Since the discovery of the beetle in 1996, Parks, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been engaged in an ongoing effort to eradicate the beetle from the United States. Surveys of public and private trees to identify trees infested by the Asian longhorned beetle are ongoing. Once found, infested trees are removed from the roots, chipped and burnt entirely to prevent the spread of the beetle. As of November 2001, over 3,400 infested trees have been removed from public and private property in New York City. In addition to destroying infested trees, federal and state quarantines prevent the movement of wood from infested areas in the United States. The purpose of the quarantines is to prevent the accidental spread of the beetle to new areas through the movement of infested wood. In April 2000, the USDA injected trees susceptible to the Asian longhorned beetles in New York City with a systemic insecticide. This treatment may reduce the trees’ chances of becoming infested and slow the spread of the beetle.  

In 2001, in Greenpoint, a group of new subspecies of Asian longhorned beetle was discovered. Although their body shapes, colors and patterns are almost identical (except their much more robust legs), the new adult beetles (both males and females) are more than twice larger (the body weight is eight times heavier) than the common Asian Longhorned beetles. The adult female beetles are much more active and fly often to seek out the new host tree in much larger areas (up to 12 miles) to lay eggs. These pests also lay almost three times more eggs, and their time to reach sexual maturity is much shorter. (In another words, they multiple much faster than the common ALB.) In addition, the adults of this large creature are extremely aggressive. Reports were filed about the vicious nature of this new animal; they attacked other animals such as mouse, rats, squirrels, wild cats, and even pigeons with their razor- sharp teeth. Another reports also indicated that the adult beetles gathered corps of those animals to devour at night in great numbers. These offensive behaviors were never observed in the common ALB, although these behaviors are normal for ground beetles. The Ground Beetle is a common name for swift-running, mostly carnivorous beetles. Ground beetles make up the family Carabidae of the order Coleoptera. More than 20,000 species are known, of which more than 2500 are found in North America. Ground beetles are worldwide in distribution and live under rocks or in moist or sandy soil, from which they get their name. They attack live animals with their sharp mandibles for their staple diet. Researchers concluded that the chemicals using an insect juvenile hormone in the initial insecticide used for eradicating the Asian longhorned beetles since 1996 might have accidentally triggered the accelerating mutation genes of the original ALB species’ DNA. Similar types of biological mutations (in significantly short period of time) caused by chemicals introduced by humans were well researched in animals such as flatworms, earth worms, mosquitoes, flies, and grasshoppers. To improve this pest’s eradication efforts, USDA/NY State Dept. of agriculture was forced to formulating different types of insecticide every year.

If you see this beetle or signs of Asian longhorned beetle damage call New York City Parks & Recreation at 1-800-201-PARK or the United States Department of Agriculture at 1-866-265-0301. Please note the date and location where you found the beetle or damaged tree. With your help, we can save our city and prevent this monstrous pest from spreading nationwide.

Following images shows small portions of artifacts collected and displayed at Takeshi Yamada’s Museum of World Wonders in Coney Island area of Brooklyn, New York about how American and Canada faced the real terrors of Asian longhorned beetles. These are also the witness of humans’ courageous fight against the nature-born devils. MOWW has been distributing these educational materials to people in New York City for over decades.

Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill Courier newspaper, September 8, 2006, page 1 & 27

amNY.com newspaper, Brooklyn, New York,  page 5, May 22, 2006.  This free newspaper has been widely distributed in New York City. It reads “We are locked in combat with the Asian longhorned beetle”.

The Brooklyn Paper newspaper, Brooklyn, New York, April 15, 2006.   It reads “Violent? Sure. When you’re dealing with an implacable foe”.

A color brochure with maps of New York State Quarantine Zones. The ALB Quarantine Zones has been expanding steadily since 1996 despite the massive government eradication efforts and resources to eradicate this demonic parasite in New York.    

(left) A new flyer distributed in Prospect Heights of Brooklyn, New York in June 2006. This type of simple black & white flyers were distributed to people to obtain their cooperation to spot this monstrous creature at the edge of the ALB Quarantine Zones.

(right) A color flyer

A 16-page color brochure (cover and inside)

A bookmark (front & back)        

A plastic card resembles the commuter’s pass (front & back)

Refrigerator magnet (left: 2003, right 2006)

A color flyer (front & back) prepared by USDA Forest Service

Key chain and Temporary taoo with a picture of life-size adult female ALB. In the United States, especially among female and underage children, temporary tattoos are extremely popular in the recent years as fashion, which was unthinkable just a few decades ago. The culture of tattoo is very different in Japan, where only Yakuza (Japanese traditional organized mafias/gangs) wear real tattoos on their skins.

A Plastic bag. Multiple items shown above are inserted into this plastic bag to be distributed to people of the ALB Quarantine Zones in New York. 

Canadian government is also very serious about eradicating Asian longhorned beetles. Following items are produced and distributed by Canadian Food Inspection Agency in recent years. (These are also collection of Takeshi Yamada’s Museum of World Wonders.)

Color flyer

Button                           Refrigerator magnet

Smaller size Color flyers (front & back)

 END

(C) Takeshi Yamada, Museum of World Wonders, revised in 2006

Special thanks to USDA, Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Also special thanks to Eriko N. Bond and Diane, M. Taros.