Asian Beetle Sightings in Boston Cause Concern at Hale Reservation

While Hale Reservation may seem like it's at a safe distance from recent sightings of the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in Boston, directors at the reserve feel the insect's presence is a little too close for comfort.

"It's something we need to be very concerned about," said Jay Walsh, Hale Reservation's Environment Resource Manager. "As of yet, we had thought this was in containment. Hearing that this moved out here (near Boston) is not good news. It's a very destructive beetle."

The beetle, which was first discovered in the Worcester area in 2008, infests hardwood trees including maple, birch and elm. The insects can spread through the distribution or sale of firewood, Walsh said, in which larva is allowed to grow. The larvas then grow into adult beetles, spreading out into further regions.

Most recently, confirmed sightings of the beetle were reported in six trees located on the grounds of Faulkner Hospital in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood, thus causing potential threat to the Arnold Arboretum.

"We understand that news of the ALB presence in Boston will be a concern to the community, and we are working as quickly as possible to determine the extent of the issue," said Ian A. Bowles, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), in a statement last week.

But while there have been no sightings reported as far as Westwood, the beetle's presence in Boston has indeed raised the eyebrows of the folks at Hale, where the vegetation and tree-life is not dissimilar from that of the Arnold Arboretum. As such, Walsh says he is going to heavily research the insect's patterns.

"It looks like I'm going to have to learn about it very quickly," he said. "It's a big concern for anyone with a big wood lot."

In theory, the beetle could cause property damage if it were to spread heavily among residential buildings. But the cause for concern at Hale is focused more on the natural order of the reserve.

"Here at Hale, what would happen is much less property damage; there's not many buildings out here in the woods," Walsh said. "But it would be detrimental because the forest would be wiped out and it could destroy a lot of habitat."

Hale's grounds see the presence of a number of natural threats each year, Walsh added, from overcrowding aquatic plants to certain breeds of moth in winter. Even carpenter ants have posed a nuisance to the reservation's trees. But the ALB would be something else all together.

"There's a lot (of threats) out there," Walsh said. "But those exotics that come out here, they don't have any predators, so once they move in they are free to go on a frenzy."

Luckily, while there is some concern, there is no indication at the moment that the beetles will reach as far as Westwood.

"It hit Worcester (in 2008) and it's now on the other side of us, so it is a possibility," said Chris Gallagher, assistant director of the Westwood Department of Public Works. "But at the moment we are hopeful and we haven't seen any signs of it yet. Any calls that come in for something like that, we certainly do investigate."

But determining the path of the beetle and how far it might spread is no easy task, according to the Massachusetts DCR.

"There's absolutely no way of knowing," said DCR spokesperson Wendy Fox. "They found it in six trees (at Faulkner Hospital), and the survey teams are now radiating out from there, climbing trees, every branch twig, trunk, looking for signs of the beetle."

Those teams, Fox added, have been radiating out from the Jamaica Plain area within a mile-and-a-half radius. Still, Fox said it's a crucial that sightings at all should be reported.

"Even though there's been nothing found out in the Westwood area, it's great if everyone knows what the signs are," she said. "The holes that the bugs come out of the tree, it's a hole about the size of a dime, with maybe what looks like sawdust or sap oozing out. But those perfectly round, dime-sized holes – if you see those, report it."

Sightings of the Asian longhorned beetles should be reported to through the Massachusetts DCR website, or by calling the toll-free ALB hotline at 866-702-9938.