Text: USDA to Test Insecticide Against Asian Longhorned Beetle
(Tree removal currently only way to eradicate pest)The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is planning to conduct field tests to determine whether a systemic insecticide will be useful in stopping the spread of the Asian longhorned beetle.
Following is the text of the USDA press release on the program:
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USDA TO TEST INSECTICIDE AGAINST ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2000 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning to conduct field tests to determine whether a systemic insecticide will be useful in stopping the spread of the Asian longhorned beetle.
"Our researchers are working diligently to find an alternative to tree removal, which is currently the only known way to eradicate the Asian longhorned beetle," said Michael V. Dunn, under secretary for USDA's marketing and regulatory programs.
"We are hopeful that these field tests will provide additional useful information to support preliminary findings from experiments conducted in China," Dunn said. "We are constantly researching tools and methods that may be helpful in our battle against this tree-killing pest." USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has completed an environmental assessment that considers various methods of protection for trees. APHIS is planning to begin field tests of the systemic insecticides this spring. Two methods of delivering the pesticide will be evaluated: soil and trunk injections.
The Asian longhorned beetle, native to China, bores into healthy hardwood trees, feeds on living tree tissue during the larval 3 stage, and later emerges through an almost half-inch hole. To fight this invasive species, agriculture officials have been forced to remove more than 4,300 trees in and around New York City and more than 1,200 trees in the Chicago area.
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