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Asian Beetle Search Begins In Boston, Springfield

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Nov 8, 2009 5:53 pm US/Eastern

Asian Beetle Search Begins In Boston, Springfield

BOSTON (AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Asian Beetle (File Image)
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Massachusetts authorities plan to survey trees in Boston and Springfield for signs of the invasive Asian longhorned beetles.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources wants residents to join state officials to help look for the bullet-shaped black beetle with white freckles, long antennae and a voracious appetite for hardwood.

Springfield volunteers will meet Monday for training. They also will be given supplies, including binoculars they can use to spot the insects at tree tops. Boston volunteers will be trained Nov. 14.

Find out how you can volunteer.

Signs of an infestation include dime-sized holes left by adult beetles exiting a tree and oozing sap.

There have been no confirmed reports of the beetles in Boston or Springfield, but an infestation in Worcester, Boylston, Holden, Shrewsbury and West Boylston has forced state and federal officials to cut 25,000 trees to contain the insect.