Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Newark, Delaware » Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #214180
Title: Asian Longhorned Beetle Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky): Lessons Learned and Opportunities to Improve the Process of Eradication and Management

Author
item Smith, Michael
item TURGEON, JEAN - CANADIAN FOREST SERVICE
item GROOT, PETER DE - CANADIAN FOREST SERVICE
item GASMAN, B - CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION

Submitted to: American Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/20/2008
Publication Date: 3/20/2009
Citation: Smith, M.T., Turgeon, J.J., Groot, P., Gasman, B. 2009. Asian Longhorned Beetle Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky): Lessons Learned and Opportunities to Improve the Process of Eradication and Management. American Entomologist. 55(1):21-25.

Interpretive Summary: The Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB), native to China and the Korean peninsula, is a serious invasive species in North America and Europe. Known infestations currently exist in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Toronto, France, Austria and Germany. Because little was known about ALB outside of China in 1996 when ALB was first discovered, and the knowledge of ALB in China was largely observational, intensive research efforts were undertaken in both countries. Furthermore, because the infestations in North America are typically located in heavily populated areas that are environmentally sensitive, the approaches used to eradicate ALB needed to be adapted to meet the unique circumstance at the local level. Therefore, development and implementation of adaptive management strategies required complementary efforts between the agencies responsible for the eradication programs, and those responsible for development of tools and strategies to meet the needs of the eradication programs. In this paper, a retrospective overview of the development and implementation of the varied approaches, the lessons learned since 1996, and the potential opportunities to improve the process are discussed. Insights, applicable to early detection and rapid response to ALB and other invasive species, are presented.

Technical Abstract: Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), native to China and the Korean peninsula, is a serious non-indigenous invasive species in North America and Europe. These invasive populations have been the focus of intensive eradication efforts since 1996 that continue to the present time. These efforts have utilized a mix of various approaches within and among the different invasive events, which required adaptation to meet the circumstance at the local and landscape levels. However, since knowledge of A. glabripennis within and outside its countries of origin was largely observational or scant, respectively, A. glabripennis was the target of intensive research efforts undertaken in both countries. Therefore, the approaches in the eradication programs have also evolved as new knowledge and technologies developed. In this paper we provide a retrospective overview of the evolution of the varied approaches and in turn identify potential opportunities to improve the process, targeting those that aid in early detection and rapid response to incipient populations and new introductions of A. glabripennis, and other non-indigenous invasive species. A deeper understanding of the process of invasion, obtained from comparative research of the endemic, epidemic and invasive populations in Korea, China and North America, respectively, may well contribute to development of more effective proactive approaches to A. glabripennis and other invasive species.