Expert to speak at Thayer Nursery on Asian longhorned beetle

By Johanna Seltz, Town Correspondent

Entomologist Todd Caswell will give a lecture at Thayer Nursery tonight on the potential impact of the Asian longhorned beetle on local trees and forests.

The destructive pest especially like maples, but also feeds on birch, elm, horse chestnut, willow, and other hardwood trees and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of trees in Worcester in recent years.

Beetles were found this summer on six red maples at Faulkner Hospital, across from the Arnold Arboretum and about 5 miles away from Milton.

So far, no beetles have been found in town, but officials have asked residents to keep an eye out for the bugs. The beetles are shiny and black with white spots and long-banded antennae. They leave behind dime-sized, perfectly round holes, as well as divots that may be oozing sap where they’ve laid their eggs.

“We monitor our farm closely, and we feel that providing this information to the public is our civic responsibility and a service we want to provide,” said Maggie Oldfield, managing partner of Thayer Nursery. “By accessing the expertise of Todd Caswell, we feel that we are sponsoring a fact-filled informed discussion on this nasty bug.”

The 7:30 p.m. talk is free and open to the public. Thayer Nursery is located at 270 Hillside St.

Johanna Seltz can be reached at seelenfam@verizon.net.