COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State University experts are available to speak with reporters about the discovery in Ohio of Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), an exotic insects that kills maples and other trees, which was announced today (6/17) by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
“I had hoped that Asian longhorned beetle would never be detected in Ohio,” said Dan Herms, an entomologist with OSU Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and an expert on wood-boring insects. “ALB poses such a serious threat to Ohio’s trees because it has a wide host range that includes maples, which are among the most abundant species in Ohio’s natural and urban forests.”
ALB was found on a maple tree at a residence in Bethel, Clermont County, south east of Cincinnati. OSU Extension has set up an information hotline for residents in southwest Ohio who have questions about ALB: 513-946-8980.
Experts’ list:
--Insect biology and tree damage: Joe Boggs, 513-260-1474, boggs.47@cfaes.osu.edu; Cindy Meyer, 419-688-9135, meyer.824@cfaes.osu.edu; David Shetlar, 614-292-3762, shetlar.1@osu.edu; Dan Herms, 330-202-3506, herms.2@osu.edu.
--Forest products: Eric McConnell, 614-292-9838, mcconnell.213@osu.edu.
--Maple syrup production: Gary Graham, 330-263-3799, graham.124@osu.edu.
--Forest management: Kathy Smith, 614-688-3136, smith.81@osu.edu.
--Community preparedness: Amy Stone, 419-392-1308, stone.91@cfaes.osu.edu.
-30-