Thousands of trees have been cut down and burned to eradicate this pest. We want to prevent similar infestations of ALB and other longhorned beetles from happening. As the popularity of and demand for dwarfed plants grows in the United States, shipments from abroad increase. In 1999, PPQ handled several imported shipments of infested dwarfed plants that were apparently field grown. Both these beetles are serious orchard pests in their native land and attack a wide variety of living hardwood trees and possibly some conifers.
Female beetles lay eggs on the lower portion of host trunks or on exposed roots.
Adults feed on bark, leaves, and leaf petioles. Trees infested with these pests often die. In Miami, PPQ found larvae of a longhorned beetle boring in the stem and roots of dwarfed wisteria plantsfrom China. These Miami larvae are believed to represent a third longhorned beetle arriving with bonsai shipments that damages living ornamental plants. They often bore into the roots or stems of dwarfed trees.