DURHAM, N.H. — New research shows that an invasive beetle that has destroyed hardwood forests thrives in red maple trees, federal scientists say.
The findings by the US Forest Service in Durham echo a 2011 study that found the Asian longhorned beetle is four times more likely to mature when it feeds on red maple rather than Norway or sugar maples. The study examined trees in Massachusetts and the results were published Dec. 31 in the journal Insects.
Scientists say the research could help target efforts to wipe out the beetle. ‘‘In these forests, [the Asian longhorned beetle] attacked red maple at high rates and adult beetles emerged far more often from these trees than other maple species present,’’ said forest service entomologist Kevin Dodds, the study’s lead author. ‘‘Unfortunately, red maple is geographically widespread and found in many environments, providing [the Asian longhorned beetle] a pathway into new areas.’’
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The inch-long beetle with long black and white antennae first came in the United States from China and Korea on shipping crates about two decades ago. It has killed hundreds of thousands of trees by boring into the trunks.
The researchers looked at two forests made up of several hardwood species within the Worcester, Mass., quarantine zone. Eggs were found in all the maple stands studied but fully grown beetles chewed their way out of nearly 60 percent of the red maples, compared with 12 percent of sugar maples and 15 percent of Norway maples.
New Jersey and Illinois have wiped out infestations, while eradication activities continue in New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio.