The annual Asian longhorned beetle Swimming Pool Survey is underway, marking the program’s sixth summer of research work.  

The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation invites pool owners, now through Aug. 30, to check their pool filters and help keep watch for the invasive beetles before they cause serious damage to the state’s forests and street trees.

The should either email photos to the Forest Health Program at or mail insects to the DEC’s Forest Health Diagnostics Lab for identification, Attn: Jessica Cancelliere, 108 Game Farm Road, Delmar, NY 12054.

The DEC and partners will also be hanging tags on host trees to encourage people to learn more about the beetles and to demonstrate the potential impacts in neighborhoods and parks.

The majority of invasive forest pest infestations are found and reported by members of the public, making citizen science a vital component for protecting urban and rural forests, according to a release from the DEC.

August is National Tree Check Month when the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service encourages the public to look for evidence of Asian longhorned beetle attacks on trees in their area. The timing of these survey activities is important as the beetles do not emerge from infested trees until the end of July and are most active in late summer.

People without pools can help by learning how to recognize the beetle, as well as the signs it leaves behind (see what it looks like at http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7255.html):

— The beetles are about 1.5 inches long, black with white spots and have long, black and white antennae;

— They leave perfectly round exit holes, about the size of a dime, in branches and tree trunks; and

— Sawdust-like material called frass will collect on branches and around the base of the tree.

The wood-boring beetle is native to Asia but was accidentally introduced to the United States through wood-packing materials. The pests attack a variety of hardwoods, including maples, birches, and willows, among others, and have caused the death of hundreds of thousands of trees in New York City and Long Island, as well as across the country in New Jersey; Chicago; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Clermont, Ohio.

The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, in cooperation with the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, has worked diligently to manage the Asian longhorned beetle infestations in New York and, according to the DEC, has succeeded in eradicating the invasive beetle from Staten Island, Manhattan, Islip, and Eastern Queens.

For more information on the Pool Survey, visit DEC’s website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7255.html or contact Jessica Cancelliere at (518) 810-1609.