For the love of maple trees...

Years ago I read an article on global warming that mentioned some plant species are moving northward in search of the cooler climate they need to reproduce.   Of those plants - the maple was included and the study projected that maple trees would not be seen further south than Canada by the year 2040 or so.  I found a similar article with a blurb here:

A climate that's already changing
Warmer winter nights and fewer cold snaps in New England have helped reduce yields of maple syrup. This climate-related decline is one of several factors involved in shifting syrup production from the United States to Canada over the last 40 to 50 years.

Since maples are one of my favorite trees in the fall this made me a bit sad.  In fact I'd learned this after planting a maple in my front yard.  I also love 100% pure maple syrup to the sugary crap you find otherwize... and realized that if we have to import all supplies from Canada it will become a spendy proposition for my family.  *sigh*

But even at the time I wondered if heat was the only mechanism that would impact this or if things might happen more suddenly.
Ironically it's the global economy that brought another enemy of my favorite tree.  Thanks China.

Beetles

The infestation of Asian longhorned beetles in the Worcester area marks the fourth time the pests have been found in trees in the U.S. and the closest they have ever come to the great New England woods that erupt in dazzling, tourist-pleasing colors in the fall.

The beetles have no natural predators in North America, and regular insecticides are useless once the eggs hatch in hardwoods such as birch, poplar, willow, sycamore, maple and elm.

-- I've read a couple of articles on natural control - but not even China - who has had this problem for a long time - has any answers there.

Currently, there is no known chemical or biological defense against the Asian Longhorned Beetle and, in North America, they have few natural predators. In all cases of infestation, the affected trees are cut down and the wood destroyed.

Trees favored by the Asian Longhorned Beetle are predominantly maples, but infestations have also been discovered in horsechestnuts, poplars, willows, elms, mulberries and black locusts.

Native to parts of Asia, the beetle is believed to have arrived in North America in the wooden packing material used in cargo shipments from China.

Trees that are being planted to replace host trees include: Serviceberry or Shadbush, Ironwood, Southern catalpa, Hackberry, Turkish filbert, Ginkgo, Honey locust, Kentucky coffeetree, Tuliptree, Dawn redwood, White oak, Swamp white oak, Bur oak, English oak, Japanese lilac, Bald cypress, Basswood, and Little-leaf Linden.

Although many control methods are under development for ALB in China, identification and removal of infested trees remains the only widely used method.

This article had some research on Natural Enemies of ALB and Other Longhorned Beetles.  I'm sure this is too detailed for a light read, but dang - I don't want to replace my tree!!! 

There are many natural enemies of longhorned beetles in North America, including predators, parasitoids, and pathogens. Predators include a number of beetles, in some rather obscure groups such as the flat bark beetles, the cylindrical bark beetles, clerid beetles and click beetles; a few flies, including robber flies; assassin and ambush bugs; thrips; and carpenter ants. In addition, a number of vertebrates, including birds, lizards, spiders, scorpions, toads, and small mammals, are recorded predators of longhorned beetles. Parasitoids include wasps in various families including braconids, ichneumonids, and numerous chalcids; and tachinid and sarcophagid flies. Nematodes and fungi have been reported as infecting larvae.

Of the natural enemies attacking longhorned beetles which share a common host with ALB, several parasitize either the egg or larval stage of longhorned beetles. Natural enemies known to attack ALB and/or beetles belonging to the same genus (Anoplophora) as ALB include the egg parasitoid Aprostocetus fukutai (Eulophidae), which parasitizes A. chinensis and Apriona germarii. However, no egg parasitoids have as yet been collected from ALB, nor A. nobilis. Several larval parasitoids have been identified, including Ontsira sp. (Braconidae), which parasitizes A. chinensis larvae, and O. anoplophorae, a gregarious larval ectoparasitoid of A. malasiaca on citrus.

More noteworthy, the cylindrical bark beetle Dastarcus longulus is a larval/pupal parasitoid of ALB, as well as several other related longhorned beetles in China. It has been found to parasitize and kill as much as 60% of ALB, and as many as 30 individuals of this parasitoid are capable of successfully completing their development on a single ALB larva or pupa, which usually kills the ALB within 10 days. In locations where D. longulus is established in relatively high numbers, ALB is said to be under natural control. Therefore, this natural enemy shows considerable promise in biological control of ALB and other Anoplophora species in China, and it is currently under investigation for future potential introductions into the U.S.

Although a number of invertebrate predators have been reported feeding on longhorned beetles world-wide, only five ant species have been reported as specific predators of A. versteegii in citrus in India. Several woodpeckers are known to contribute to the natural control of ALB in China, reportedly reducing populations by 30 to 80% in the field. Hanging bird nests in poplar plantations has been suggested to encourage them.

Pathogens represent an additional group of natural enemies worthy of investigation. The fungus Beauveria bassiana has been isolated from ALB larvae, and when injected as a liquor into insect holes, it has resulted in death of ALB. B. brongniartii, introduced from Japan, has also been shown to infect ALB, especially adults. In addition, Paecilomyces farinosus has been isolated from ALB larvae, while Acremonium chrysogenum and Verticillium sp. have been isolated from A. nobilis. Metarhizium anisopliae isolated from Saperda populnea larvae has been shown to infect A. nobilis and other related species. Entomopathogenic bacteria have been isolated from ALB larvae and pupae, and a baculovirus has been isolated from A. nobilis larvae. Finally, the entomopathogenic nematodes Steinernema bibionis and S. feltiae, when inserted into borer holes, have been reported to result in a minimum of 60% mortality of ALB. Strains of Heterorhabatis sp. and S. feltiae have also been evaluated for control of various poplar borers.

Exploration, collection and identification of natural enemies of ALB has been limited, and of those identified, few if any have received thorough evaluation, and none have as yet been developed completely for biological control of ALB. Therefore, sorely needed investigations of the natural enemies of ALB in China are currently in progress. Natural enemies, including the promising D. longulus mentioned above are being evaluated in greater detail. Exploration for new natural enemies of ALB is being conducted in key habitats such as wind-breaks, hedge-rows, plantations and natural forests that may harbor different complexes of natural enemies with differences in key performance traits, but also represent the different types of habitats which may be targeted in the U.S. Reciprocal investigations have only recently been initiated within the U.S., in which natural enemies found associated with ALB in known infestations are being collected and identified. Native natural enemies of longhorned beetles occurring in the U.S. will also be identified and evaluated as potential natural enemies for biological control of ALB in the U.S. and in China.

Is biodiversity the answer?
Will I be able to save my beloved maple?  :( 

I planted that tree with my family when I first moved into my new house.  I feel like it's part of my family.