Destructive Chinese beetle found breeding in Kent

 

The Asian Longhorn Beetle, which can grow to nearly 2in long and might bite if handled, could cause the death of tens of thousands of trees and cost the country millions of pounds if it becomes established. Seven of its larvae have been found in a poplar tree close to the village of Paddock Wood, near Maidstone, Kent. The tree is about 100 yards from where Bob Dylan is due to play to a 50,000-strong crowd at the Hop Farm Music Festival in June. The beetle threatens broadleaved trees including sycamore, ash, birch, willow, poplar, and some fruit trees. The Forestry Commission last night warned that the beetle – normally found in China - may already have had at least one undisturbed breeding season at the outbreak site. Exit holes in some trees suggested that larvae growing under the bark had matured and spread elsewhere. They are capable of flying more than 1.2 miles.