It's the insect equivalent to an all points bulletin for law enforcement officers. Like so many other exotic pests, the beetle has immigrated from China to the United States by hitching a ride on cargo. In this case, the pathway has been untreated wooden crates and dunnage used on ships to protect cargo originating from China. The Asian Longhorned Beetle can bore into the wood and deposit eggs that become transpacific larvae just waiting to establish a new home in America. In fact, similar materials have already come to Oregon.
International commerce is important to a state like Oregon.
But Johnson says increased pest risk can be one of the downsides of increased world trade. State and federal inspectors have been looking closely for the beetle the past two years. So far, so good. But with the most recent outbreak in Chicago, officials have elevated the issue and the search. Johnson spent an afternoon in Chicago this summer to get a closer look at an insect she would rather not see in Oregon.