WORCESTER, Mass. - Efforts to eradicate the Asian Longhorned Beetle in Worcester County are still happening on a daily basis. The United States Department of Agriculture conducts several different surveys, including tree inspections performed by climbers like Christopher Rebolini.  

“Basically, we are looking at the bark. We are looking for chew marks of our species of beetle. There are squirrels, there are other insects, we are really just determining if it’s our guy or not,” Rebolini said.

The Asian Longhorned Beetle is black with white spots and has an antenna twice the size of its body. The invasive insect leaves behind a perfectly round exit hole about the size of a dime. These holes and markings aren’t always easy to spot.

“Like this tree in particular. You got a mark here and it’s just really hard to discern what is our beetle and what is regular tree damage,” Rebolini said. 

The USDA said they last found an infested tree in Worcester County in 2021 and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation said the last time they had a beetle in one of their traps was 2015.

“if I find it I want to get another set of eyes on it. It’s kind of a big deal. Someone else will climb this tree and verify it. Eventually, we flag the tree and it will get cut down,” Rebolini said. 

That’s what happened to more than 24,000 trees across Worcester County after an ALB infestation was discovered in 2008. Roughly 20,000 of those trees were in Worcester.

“We are talking about in the early days finding tens of thousands of trees to now in 2024 where we aren’t finding any, Antony Massop with the USDA’s ALB Eradication Program said. 

Massop said he ALB program is in its final stages making sure the beetle is no longer on the landscape. They can practically eat a tree from the inside out causing structural damage, ultimately harming the health of a forest.

“There’s no known natural predators. So in the terms of the food chain, if you allow it, it will decimate the forest. So we want to make sure we are doing what we need to do to protect the forest,” Massop said. 

While most beetles are believed to be gone, if you ever find one or see and exit site, you’re asked to report it right away. 

“If you find one, put it in a jar, a hard plastic jar and put it in the freezer,” Rebolini said. 

Given the drop in numbers of beetles being found, Mass DCR only operates abut 50 traps in Worcester county now compared to 300 in 2022.