The best way to stop the spread of the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) is to learn the signs, look for it and report it. This beetle is easy to identify with the following unique characteristics:

• 1 to 1 ½ inches in length
• Long antennae banded with black and white (longer than the insect’s body)
• Shiny jet black body with distinctive white spots
• Six legs
• May have blue color on feet

In addition to looking for the beetle, you should also search for signs of infestation. If you find the beetle or any signs shown on this page, report it immediately.

Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) egg oviposition site. The adult beetle chews a small notch in the bark of a tree and then lays an egg just under the bark.

Multi-egg site in tree bark.

Close up of egg laying site.

Once hatched, the egg becomes a larva. Larvae bore into the tree, where they feed on the vascular layer.

ALB larva inside wood.

A larva becomes a pupa, which in turn becomes an adult.

A pupa becomes an adult ALB. Adults bore their way out of the tree, creating perfectly round, dime-sized exit holes.

Adult ALB feed on tree bark, leaves and tender twigs.
 
 

Adult ALB.

Adult ALB on tree with oviposition (egg-laying) sites.

Perfectly round, dime-size exit holes where beetles emerge.
 

Tree with multiple exit holes.

Close-up of an exit hole.

As the beetle tunnels, the ALB often pushes sawdust-like material, called frass, out onto the ground or tree branches.