Ecology and management of exotic and endemic Asian longhorned beetle Anoplophora glabripennis

Abstract

Abstract The Asian longhorned beetle is native to China and Korea, and was found for the first time outside its native habitat in the U.S.A. in 1996, with subsequent detections being made in Canada and several European countries. We review the taxonomy, distribution, basic biology, behaviour, ecology and management of endemic and exotic Anoplophora glabripennis, including information that is available in the extensive Chinese literature. This species has caused massive mortality of Populus species in China and models have demonstrated that it could become established in many locations worldwide. Anoplophora glabripennis is polyphagous but prefers Acer, Salix and Populus, section Aigeiros. Although A. glabripennis adults do not disperse far when surrounded by host trees, they have the potential to fly more than 2000 m in a season. Volatile organic compounds from preferred host trees are attractive to A. glabripennis and this attraction is heightened by drought stress. Males and females orientate to a volatile released by female A. glabripennis and males attempt to copulate after contacting a sex pheromone on the female cuticle. At present, A. glabripennis is being (or has been) eradicated from areas where it has been introduced. After detection, extensive surveys are conducted and, if breeding populations are detected, at the very least, infested trees are removed and destroyed. Close attention is paid to imported solid wood packaging material to prevent new introductions. Standard practice to control A. glabripennis in China is to spray insecticides in tree canopies. In North America, largely as a preventative measure, systemic insecticides are injected into trees. Entomopathogenic fungi have been developed for the control of A. glabripennis, and entomopathogenic nematodes, coleopteran and hymenopteran parasitoids and predatory woodpeckers have been investigated as biocontrol agents. Ecological control of A. glabripennis in China involves planting mixtures of preferred and nonpreferred tree species, and this practice can successfully prevent outbreaks.