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Alarm in Magdeburg: Pheromone traps against Asian longhorned beetles!
Monitoring of the Asian longhorned beetle will begin in July 2025 in the Börde and Magdeburg quarantine zone. Pheromone traps installed.
Alarm in Magdeburg: Pheromone traps against Asian longhorned beetles!
A lot has happened in the quarantine zone around Magdeburg in the last few weeks: pheromone traps have been in use since the end of May to monitor the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). These measures are urgently necessary because the State Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture of Saxony-Anhalt (LLG) has expected the start of the ALB's flight phase due to an increase in temperature. Over 250 traps have now been placed on trees in the region, a significant increase compared to previous years, to identify the last infested trees and contain the pest. Gabot informed that the traps primarily attract female beetles, but male specimens are not held back either.
The weekly check of the traps, which is carried out by the city garden and cemeteries of the state capital Magdeburg (EB SFM) in cooperation with the LLG, includes emptying and refilling with attractants. The traps themselves have an effective radius of around 100 meters. A beetle in the trap is an alarming sign: it indicates the need to search for undetected infested breeding trees in the area. The time reports that these monitoring measures are also intended to provide good maintenance services in order to stop the spread of the pest.
The Asian Longhorned Beetle – A Secret Threat
ALB, a dangerous pest that was introduced from Asia, has the potential to cause massive damage to native hardwood species. Within a few years it can cause entire trees to die, which results in high losses not only for the environment but also for the local economy. This problem has also led to the establishment of strict legal measures: since January 1, 2020, the ALB has been listed in the Plant Health Ordinance as a priority quarantine organism, such as this Federal Office for the Environment communicates.
Combating pest success depends not only on monitoring and control measures, but also on the active participation of the population. The LLG uses the meeting of technology and community by calling on citizens to report suspected cases. In this way, undetected infestations should be identified at an early stage and every report will be investigated by experts directly on site.
As part of these measures, summer soil monitoring was also started to check the ALB host plants for infestation. There are similar challenges in Switzerland, where several active infestations are now known. As in other countries, the ALB can cause devastating economic and ecological damage there, which is why close controls and preventive measures are essential.
It remains exciting: With steel and rope in action against the Asian longhorned beetle, the LLG hopes to put a stop to the pest and locate the last infected trees in Magdeburg before it can cause further damage.