Asian Longhorned Beetles

Meet the beetles

adamg — Tue, 10 May 2011 11:48:49 +0000

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.

The hearing is by the council's Committee on Environment and Health, which will review work done to keep the tree-killing alien bugs from spreading past the grounds of Faulkner Hospital, where six infested trees were found last year. Federal officials immediately imposed a quarantine area around the hospital - residents are not allowed to bring any tree limbs outside the area. The latest plans call for injecting trees - or in some cases, the ground around trees, with insecticide in the area surrounding the hospital.

At he hearing, experts will explain how to identify possible evidence of beetle infestation.

"Among the strengths of West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and Roslindale are the parks and open space areas," City Councilor Matt O'Malley (West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain) says. "Anything that could threaten that warrants immediate attention, education, and prevention."

Feds getting ready to treat trees around Faulkner Hospital with insecticide

adamg — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:43:53 +0000

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.

Crisis averted: Trees on Boston Common not cut down because of dreaded beetles

adamg — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:47:37 +0000

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.

Get bugged out around Jamaica Pond

adamg — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:31:24 +0000

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: volunteer@emeraldnecklace.org.

Stop bugging Worcester about the JP beetles

adamg — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:09:07 +0000

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.

Forest Hills bus yard to become beetle grindhouse

adamg — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:29:50 +0000

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.

For possibly the next four years, people and businesses within a roughly 1.5-mile radius of Faulkner Hospital - where a number of the tree-killing beetles and their demonspawn were found earlier this month - are forbidden from carrying anything coming from their trees out of the area. The giant wood chipper would be just for people within the zone.

Asian Longhorned Beetles on the Orange Line

adamg — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:40:41 +0000

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.

Area around Faulkner to be under beetle watch for years

adamg — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:03:02 +0000

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.

Men in Blue spread out in hunt for alien invaders in Jamaica Plain

adamg — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:49:34 +0000

Fred White took this photo of some of the six federal agents who swept his yard today in search of evidence of the dreaded tree-killing Asian Longhorned Beetles. White lives on Malcolm Road in Jamaica Plain, right behind Faulkner Hospital, where six trees infested with the beetles and their demon spawn were found over the weekend.

White reports the US Department of Agriculture inspectors found nothing in his yard; gave his son a temporary Asian Longhorned Beetle tattoo.

Over the next few days, federal inspectors will try to examine tens of thousands of trees in a hot zone extending roughly 1.5 miles out from Faulkner.

Who brings wood to a hospital?

adamg — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 01:20:04 +0000

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.

Tree killers often lackadaisical, may not have gotten beyond Faulkner

adamg — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:06:28 +0000

The Globe reports on cautious optimism of state officials; says Faulkner groundskeepers discovered the infestation during routine tree maintenance.

Don't touch that wood!

adamg — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:03:05 +0000

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.

Tree-devouring beetles discovered across street from Arnold Arboretum

Kaz — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:47:07 +0000

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.

If Dr. Seuss were alive and writing about Asian Longhorned Beetles

adamg — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:45:49 +0000

It might look something like this.

Feds pour millions into Massachusetts to stem dreaded tree-killing beetle invaders

adamg — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:17:13 +0000

$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.