Insects
Below is a list of exotic or invasive insect species that can be found in Missouri. Spongy Moth, Emerald Ash Borer and Asian Long-horned Beetle have phone numbers and/or websites where infestations can be reported.
Reportable Insects
Adult beetles are large, distinctive-looking insects measuring 1 to 1.5 inches in length with long antennae. Their bodies are black with small white spots, and their antennae are banded in black and white. Females can lay up to 90 eggs in their lifetime. Within 2 weeks, the egg hatches, and the white larva bores into the tree, feeding on the living tissue that carries nutrients and the layer responsible for new growth under the bark. After several weeks, the larva tunnels into the woody tree tissue, where it continues to feed and develop over the winter.
Hosts
In the United States the beetle prefers maple species (Acer spp.), including boxelder, Norway, red, silver, and sugar maples. Other preferred hosts are birches, Ohio buckeye, elms, horse chestnut, and willows. Occasional to rare hosts include ashes, European mountain ash, London planetree, mimosa, and poplars. A complete list of host trees in the United States has not been determined.
Signs and Damage
Chewed round depressions in the bark of the tree, pencil-sized, perfectly round tree exit holes, excessive sawdust near tree bases, unseasonable yellowed or dropping leaves. Signs of ALB start to show about 3 to 4 years after infestation, with tree death occurring in 10 to 15 years depending on the tree’s overall health and site conditions. Infested trees do not recover, nor do they regenerate.
For more information:
- Pest Alert ( pdf)
- US FS - Northern Research Station ( html)
- Missouri Department of Conservation ( html)
- USDA APHIS ( html)
Where Do I Report an Infestation?
If you see signs or symptoms of infestation, follow the reporting directions on the MDC website .
The Emerald Ash Borer is rapidly expanding its range and is killing ash trees by the millions. This valuable hardwood tree is prized for baseball bats and tool handles and provides critical ecosystem functions in riparian areas.
Hosts
Ash
Signs and Damage
Canopy thinning and dieback, epicormic sprouting (growing new branches and leaves wherever they can), woodpecker damage, d-shaped exit holes, s-shaped galleries and splitting bark
For more information:
- Emerald Ash Borer Information Network ( html )
- Pest Alert ( pdf)
- US FS - Northern Research Station ( html)
- Missouri Department of Agriculture ( html)
- USDA APHIS ( html)
Where Do I Report an Infestation?
If you see signs or symptoms of infestation, report it immediately by calling 573-751-5505.
Oaks are the preferred host species for feeding caterpillars, but apple, sweetgum, basswood, gray and white birch, poplar, willow and many others serve as hosts. Spongy moths avoid ash, yellow -poplar, sycamore, black walnut, catalpa, locust, American holly, and shrubs such as mountain laurel, rhododendron and arborvitae. Older larvae will also feed on a number of conifers such as hemlock, pines, spruces and southern white cedar.
Hosts
While they prefer oak trees, spongy moth may feed on many species of trees and shrubs, both hardwood and conifer. In the eastern US, the spongy moth prefers oaks, aspen, apple, sweetgum, speckled alder, basswood, gray, paper birch, poplar, willow, and hawthorns, amongst other species.
Symptoms and Damage
Teardrop-shaped egg masses are tan to yellowish and may possibly be hairy in appearance. Caterpillar can be up to 2 and 3/4 inches long with hairy black or brown bodies with five pairs of blue bumps toward the front and six pairs of red bumps towards the back. Adults show up in the middle of summer, the males are brown, have antennae and fly. Women are larger, cream colored and don't fly. Damage ranges from light leaf damage to branches stripped bare of leaves to a tree’s complete defoliation.
For more information:
- Pest Alert ( pdf)
- US FS - Northern Research Station ( html)
- Missouri Department of Agriculture ( html)
- USDA APHIS ( html)
Where Do I Report an Infestation?
If you see signs or symptoms of infestation, report it immediately by calling 573-751-5505.
Be Aware
Japanese beetles have a one year life cycle and are most common from early June through late August.
Hosts
Adults can feed on over 350 different species of plant, and are especially fond of flowers, overripe fruit, grapes, corn silks and soybeans.
Symptoms and Damage
Adults feed on leaves, buds and flowers of many plants. On leaves they eat between the veins. On flowers they eat the petals. Larvae feed on roots of grasses and damage is not immediately visible.
For more information:
The sirex woodwasp was introduced through imported wood products. It feeds on healthy pine trees and sires as a vector for a fungus that kills pine trees.
Hosts
Pine species, including jack, red and white. Spruce, fir, larch, and Douglas Fir.
Symptoms and Damage
This pest is attracted to stressed trees. The problem is not the sirex woodwasp directly, but its association with the pathogenic fungus, Amylostereum areolatum, which kills the tree, making it a more suitable host for the larva.
Symptoms include wilting needles, which turn downward and eventually turn red or brown. Egg laying causes the tree to produce resin flow or beading. As adults emerge, they chew round exit holes that vary from 1/8 to 3/8 inch in diameter.
For more information: