From the Jamaica Plain Gazette:

JAMAICA HILLS—The Independence Day holiday mood ended abruptly on Tuesday morning when six trees on the Faulkner Hospital grounds were destroyed after it was discovered over the weekend they were infested with Asian longhorned beetles (ALB). The hospital is on Centre Street across from Arnold Arboretum, a well-known tree preserve here in Jamaica Plain, one of the greenest neighborhoods in Boston.

The ALB is considered an invasive species in North America, where it is a serious threat to many species of deciduous hardwood trees, including maples, birches, horse chestnuts, elms and willows. During the larval stage, the ALB bores deep into a tree’s heartwood, where it feeds on the tree’s nutrients. The tunneling damages and eventually kills the tree. The ALB is believed to have come to the United States in wooden packing crates from China several years ago. The adult beetles—which are shiny black with white spots and long, banded antennae—have no known predators in this country.

Read the rest of the story at the Gazette’s website.

More important information:

• A training session hosted by the Mass Dept of Agricultural Resources is being held Saturday, July 17th at 11 am at the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. Email volunteers@emeraldnecklace.org to RSVP or get more info.
• DCR officials already have declared a regulated area around the site where the infested trees were found. The area extends in a 1.5-mile radius from the site. See map below for details. No wood or wood products are allowed to leave the regulated area.
• The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has marked a ten-mile radius around Faulkner for inspection over the next several months. Trained inspectors and tree climbers will be in the area and examining private properties, though it is not guaranteed that every property will be inspected. Infested trees
• The Asian longhorned beetle is not harmful to humans, but extremely destructive to trees.
• For much more information about the beetles, along with creepy animated graphics, visit beetlebusters.info
• To report suspicious tree damage call the USDA’s toll-free Asian longhorned beetle hotline at 866.702.9938