Thursday, October 7th
6:30 PM
NorthBranch
The Black Rock Garden Club Presents: Lurking In The Trees
A documentary about the Asian longhorned beetle infestation in Worcester Massachusetts and its effect on the urban forest.
Bridgeport and other industrial areas in the State have been mentioned as potential ports of entry for this destructive pest. Come and learn how to identify the beetle and what role you can play.
Worcester, MA could be almost anywhere in America. But when a foreign invasive pest – the Asian longhorned beetle – was discovered to be killing Worcester’s maple trees, the city took decisive action to halt the spread of the beetle, protecting trees across New England from certain death.
It started when a sinister-looking bug fell on someone’s lap in a backyard on a summer afternoon. That chance discovery led to a terrible realization: insect-invaders from Asia were killing trees in New England, and the only way to stop the pests was to cut down and grind up over 25,000 trees. Worcester, MA could be any town in America – not too big, not too small – but it learned that, in today’s world of nearly infinite international trade, an invasive pest can sneak in, become established, and wreak havoc, unless citizens are informed and vigilant.
