ALBERT 1.0: Supporting Eradication of Asian Longhorned Beetle

Photo Credit

Forest Service photo by  Michael Bohne/Bugwood.org

Cutaway view of an adult Asian longhorned beetle in a pupal chamber preparing to chew an exit tunnel. When larvae are ready to pupate, they chew horizontally to create a chamber. After pupation, the adult emerges in the chamber, where it sclerotizes. 

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Invasive wood-boring insects pose a major threat to forestry, recreation, and timber industries in the United States, and species such as the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) and redbay ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus) are already radically altering North American landscapes. The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) (Anoplophora glabripennis) arrived in the United States via solid wood packing materials and continues to pose a massive threat to North American forests.

Native to China and the Korean peninsula, ALB attacks more than 22 genera of trees, including maples, elms, poplars, and willows. Larvae weaken trees by boring through phloem, xylem, and heartwood and increasing susceptibility to pests and pathogens, which often results in structural failure. Multiple infestations have been found in the United States and, if not eradicated, economic damages are expected to exceed $600 billion. Eradication efforts have been successful in some locations, but eradication depends heavily on visual surveys, felling, and destruction of infested hosts, making eradication labor intensive and costly.

Development of ALBERT 1.0

Analysis of ALB infestation and management on the landscape using the tools in ALBERT provides managers with a way to track and visualize the distribution of risk on the landscape. Here, the risk of infestation is shown by the color and height of the surface on the landscape.

Ecologist R. Talbot Trotter III from the Forest Service’s Northern Research Station worked with colleagues from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to develop Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication and Risk Tracking (ALBERT) 1.0 as a toolkit to support invasive insect eradication programs. ALBERT 1.0, which includes the ALB Risk tool and the ALB Hazard Management and Monitoring 1.0 tool, supports eradication by linking the biology and behavior of the beetle with management activities on the ground.

ALB Risk estimates local beetle dispersal and generates hectare-scale spatial risk maps. ALB Hazard Management and Monitoring 1.0—an ArcGIS- and Python-based tool—tracks changes in infestation risk over time as surveys and host removals occur. Together, these tools within ALBERT 1.0 support managers by estimating infestation risk, tracking changes over time, and evaluating management strategies. These tools help optimize survey efforts and improve eradication outcomes.

Summary of ALBERT 1.0 Capabilities

• Provides managers with hectare-by-hectare maps of estimated risk based on local beetle dispersal.
• Uses known infested tree locations and infestation severity to model dispersal.
• Generates hectare-scale dispersal and infestation risk maps of ALB to guide prioritization of field surveys.
• Estimates hectare-scale risk reductions or increases as surveys occur, additional infested trees are detected, and infested trees are removed.
• Incorporates changes in the detectability of ALB as eradication progresses.
• Helps define regulatory boundaries and anticipate resource needs to manage infestations.
• Evaluates efficacy of future strategies to manage infestations of ALB, including survey method, sequence, and timing.