Potential effect of Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera : Cerambycidae) on urban trees in the United States

Anoplophora glabripennis Motschulsky, a wood borer native to Asia, was rece ntly found in New York City and Chicago. In an attempt to eradicate these b eetle populations, thousands of infested city trees have been removed. Fiel d data from mine U.S. cities and national tree cover data were used to esti mate the potential effects of A. glabripennis on urban resources through ti me. For the cities analyzed, the potential tree resources at risk to A. gla bripennis attack based on host preferences, ranges from 12 to 61% of the ci ty tree population, with an estimated value of $72 million-$2.3 billion per city. The corresponding canopy cover loss that would occur if all preferre d host trees were killed ranges from 13-68%. The estimated maximum potentia l national urban impact of A. glabripennis is a loss of 34.9% of total cano py cover, 30.3% tree mortality (1.2 billion trees) and value loss of $669 b illion.