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For starters, points out Richard Hoebeke, assistant curator of the Cornell University insect collection, "We need to determine how many species we're dealing with." Because the Asian longhorn beetle closely resembles many native wood-boring species--of which there are approximately one thousand-- identification is especially tricky. Making identification even harder is the fact that adult beetles in Anoplophora are very similar to one another. And often the larvae have never even been seen. In the absence of more detailed information the beetles are often identified by the pattern of spots on their wing cases (elytra), but spots vary and this method is highly inconsistent.
Information Gathering Expeditions to the Beetle's Native Habitat
In July 1998, Hoebeke and Agricultural Research Service entomologist Steven W. Lingafelter spent almost four weeks in Asia studying insect collections and collecting specimens in the beetle's countries of origin. Lingafelter traveled in China while Hoebeke visited Korea and Japan. Hoebeke did field work in Japanese citrus orchards, where local entomologists are dealing with a native beetle that infests fruit trees. "We need to know what's happening with related species in order to get some insights into possible ways to control this Chinese species in North America," explains the Cornell scientist. "This species has also been intercepted at North American ports of entry and we need to be concerned about the very real threat from some of these other species as well."
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