State and federal officials gathered at the Arnold Arboretum this morning to declare Jamaica Plain and parts of neighboring Roslindale free of the Asian Longhorned Beetle.
In practical terms, the declaration means residents in the quarantine zone no longer have to do anything special with any tree limbs or trees they chop down.
Fun for a rainy day: Directions for making a beetle ring out of black construction paper, white paint and some
City councilors take up Asian Longhorned Beetles tonight, at a hearing at Franklin Park.
The session starts at 6 p.m. at the Franklin Park Clubhouse, 1 Circuit Dr.
Die, bug, die! Photo by Jenn Forman Orth.The US Department of Agriculture says it wants to inject trees up to a half-mile away from where Asian Longhorned Beetles were found last year with imidacloprid, a pesticide that kills not only beetles but bees.
USDA and state and city officials plan a public meeting on the beetles - which were found in six trees on hospital grounds - on April 28, at 7 p.m. at the Faulkner Hospital Auditorium. The current quarantine zone - in which any woody material has to be ground up - extends into Roslindale and Brookline.
The mayor's office tweeted the news today after somebody tweeted that Asian Longhorned Beetles were to blame for the recent takedown of two trees on the Common:
Boston Parks Dept. repts that trees removed were part of routine work. NOT due to the Asian Longhorn Beetle.
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy and the state Department of Agricultural Resources are looking for volunteers to help survey trees around Jamaica Pond for the dreaded Asian Longhorned Beetles this Sunday:
Meet at Pinebank in Jamaica Pond at 9:30am, and bring water, sturdy shoes, and binoculars if you have them!
RSVP to: [email protected].
The Worcester Telegram reports genetic analysis of the Asian Longhorned Beetles found in Jamaica Plain show that while they might have come from Worcester, they might also have come from New York. Can we name one Alex?
Via Daily Worcesteria.
The JPVoice reports that federal and state bug officials will put a half-acre tree-grinding facility at the MBTA's Forest Hills bus yard to grind branches and trunks - and any beetles and larvae they may house - into tiny little chips.
Jeepers, creepers
The USDA wasted little time getting ads up on the Orange Line, which starts (or ends) right in the middle of Beetleville (anybody know about buses out of Forest Hills?). UPDATE: Actually, they started running this campaign last year, but ye ed was blissfully unaware of it until a couple days ago. See the comments for more.
Meanwhile, the city, state and feds are holding an open house this Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon at Jamaica Plain's Curtis Hall to get residents in the Beetle Zone the information they need on how to spot any infestation and how to dispose of branches, stumps and other woody stuff for the next, oh, four years or so.
The Jamaica Plain Gazette reports residents living within 1.5 miles of the hospital will have to take special precautions with wood for at least four years, and that the city has to find a place for a giant woodchipper to grind up fallen branches, tree trunks and any beetles that might be in them from locations within the watch zone.
Daily Worcesteria reports federal bug experts no longer think the dreaded Asian Longhorned Beetles at Faulkner Hospital came from a nursery, but instead from "someone visiting the hospital" from the Worcester area. Who brought some infested wood.
The Globe reports on cautious optimism of state officials; says Faulkner groundskeepers discovered the infestation during routine tree maintenance.
If you live or work in the Asian Longhorned Beetle hot zone around Faulkner Hospital (which includes parts of Jamaica Plain, Roslindale and Brookline), you're no longer allowed to move any wood out. City and state officials have set up two meetings for residents and workers:
For people who work with trees and wood in the zone: Thursday, July 8, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Franklin Park Clubhouse, Circuit Drive, Franklin Park.
For residents: Tuesday, July 13, 6 to 8 p.m., same place.
Map shows the 1.5-mile radius around Faulkner Hospital in which crews will check for beetle infestation - and area in which residents, businesses now banned from removing wood to other locations.
Photo by Jenn Forman Orth.State officials are convening a press conference at 11 AM today to discuss the discovery of Asian Longhorn Beetles at the Faulkner Hospital grounds, just mere steps from the Arnold Arboretum.
Six trees showed signs of the telltale beetle bored holes in their trunks and USDA officials confirmed the sightings this weekend. It's unknown what measures are going to need to be taken, but due to the proximity, I worry for the Arboretum.
$41.5 million in emergency funding to fight Asian Longhorned Beetles.
The money will go to increased tree surveys to find potentially infected trees and to tear them down and grind them up in an attempt to stop the bug from spreading beyond the Worcester area.
State agricultural-resources worker scans Public Garden tree for beetle signs as a Channel 4 cameraman records the action.
Experts from the state Department of Agricultural Resources gave volunteers a lesson in spotting signs of Asian Longhorned Beetle infestation this afternoon - then led the first ever survey of trees in the Public Garden for signs of the tree-killing pests.
The state Department of Agricultural Resources is going to be training volunteers in the Public Garden on Thursday to help look for signs of the dreaded tree-killing beetle in the Boston area. So far as state officials know, the bugs are still just in greater Worcester, but they want to start looking just in case.
Jennifer Forman Orth, who's leading the training (12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.), reports volunteers will get a free "Ask Me About ALB" t-shirt.
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