Unlike the emerald ash borer, this beetle is BIG! And, the larvae are BIG! It prefers to attack maple, boxelder, ash, birch, elm, hackberry, poplars (except for cottonwood), willows and horsechestnut. Because of this wide range of hosts, we HAVE to eliminate this pest when possible! Surprisingly, most folks miss the 1.5-inch long beetles with 3-inch wide antennae, tip-to-tip! However, their large exit holes (3/8 to 1/2-inch in diameter and perfectly round), shaving-like castings and egg-laying scars are usually quite visible using binoculars or climbing trees.

Can I control this beetle? Don't even try! The best control technique has been to locate infested trees, cut them down and grind them up. APHIS does treat uninfested trees in certain areas in order to reduce the spread of this beetle, but they know what to use and when to apply it to maximize the effect they are trying to achieve.

What SHOULD I do? Help and cooperate! You can become a spotter and reporter! You can cooperate with the APHIS inspectors, allowing them onto your property (actually, they have the legal right to enter your property with or without permission, but it is certainly nicer for all if you welcome them!). You can also help by planting trees that are not preferred ones.

Who pays for tree removal and treatment? Where ALB has been discovered, APHIS personnel or contractors pay for removal and disposal of infested trees. They have also paid for treatments when and where these are deemed useful. We have already heard of alarmists stating that property owners will have to pay hundreds of dollars to have trees removed and disposed of! While you will have to pay for ash tree removal when killed by EAB, the ALB infested trees are handled differently.

Bottom line! ALB adults and larvae have been detected around the United States and Canada, primarily where heavy equipment or other goods are being shipped and received from China (Japan has shipped a related species, the Citrus longhorned beetle, primarily in Bonsai trees!). The wooden crates of these heavy items can be infested with larvae which eventually release adults. We all need to be aware of what this beetle and its damage looks like. We need to catch it and stop it wherever it is discovered. The USDA-APHIS is the agency best prepared to deal with this beetle, so let them operate and help where possible.

While digging billbug plots last week, we noticed mature beetles in the soil and some adults hovering back and forth over the turf. I've had some reports in the southern half of Ohio of localized JB activity, but, for now, even this activity appears to be below normal. I'm most fearful of damaging populations in northern Ohio as localized populations were causing major damage last summer. These same populations probably had a good egg laying period and survival because of adequate rains in late June into mid-July.

Remember that imidacloprid, rarely kill JB adults by causing them to "hit the ground twitching!" This isn't the nature of these insecticides! They stop normal behavior, especially feeding. When a beetle feeds on a leaf that has one of these insecticides in it, they will stop feeding and just sit there! I mention this because the average home owner may assume that the insecticide isn't working.

When the first JBs become evident on trees, shrubs and flowers, many folks begin to put out the pheromone bag traps. These are not recommended! While it has been conclusively proven that the traps bring in more beetles than would normally be in the area, and the traps are not very effective at actually trapping the beetles, it's hard to convince a proud trapper who displays a writhing bag full of beetles! Bottom line, plants near these traps suffer more damage than the same plants farther away from the traps. My solution? Give the traps to your neighbor at the end of the block!!

The semi-transparent pale green larvae are covered with short bristles; however, the bristles are difficult to detect without magnification. Early instar larvae feed as leaf skeletonizers on the lower leaf surface. The upper epidermis remains intact and eventually turns white producing the "windowpane" symptom. The thin veneer of the leaf epidermis eventually falls from the leaf to produce holes. Later instars feed between the main veins to directly produce holes. Multiple holes caused by larval feeding activity often produce "see-through" leaves. High populations spawned by the multiple generations of this sawfly can cause significant injury to roses.

Damage by this sawfly can be prevented by making a soil drench application of imidacloprid (e.g. Merit) or dinotefuran (e.g. Safari) at the time leaf buds start to break. However, it is not too late to reduce the season-long impact of this multiple generation pest. An application made now will help stem the tide of damage caused by successive generations of this rose pest.