LANSING, MI— The U.S. Department of Agriculture is asking residents to check their trees for an invasive insect.
The Asian longhorned beetle is a wood borer that attacks 12 types of hardwood trees, including maples, elms, horse chestnuts, birches, and willows. In its larval stage, the beetle feeds inside tree trunks and branches, then chews its way out as an adult in the warmer months. Infested trees eventually die.
The invasive beetle has not yet been found in Michigan, but officials says it’s crucial to keep an eye out for it. Look for round exit holes in trunks and branches, shallow oval or round scars in bark, material that looks like wood shavings on the ground or in the branches, and dead branches or limbs falling from an otherwise healthy-looking tree.
Report any sightings at www.asianlonghornedbeetle.com
