09/01/2026
August is the best time to check your trees for Asian longhorned beetle (ALB)! ALB is an invasive wood-boring beetle that attacks at least 12 types of hardwood trees, including maples, elms, horse chestnuts, birches, and willows, causing tree mortality. The larvae tunnel within the tree, and the adults bore distinctive round exit holes.
The closest native lookalike is the whitespotted sawyer, which feeds on dead and dying conifers and plays an important ecosystem role in breaking down decaying wood, which adds nutrients back into the soil.
Familiarize yourself with ALB and the damage it causes, and if you think you have ALB, call the ALB hotline at 866-702-9938 or submit an online report to the USDA via their webpage: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/form/report-it