Yesterday's mail brought something unexpected: a "Dear Citizen" letter addressed to "Mr. & Mrs. Kiewicz" from the USDA asking us to survey our yard and neighborhood street trees for signs of Asian longhorned beetles.
I don't know why this came selectively (not to 'occupant' at street address), but the letter is Michigan specific.
I wonder if this survey effort was prompted by the "unusual and widespread maple problems" being found locally this summer. I remember that the Emerald Ash Borer infestation smouldered for several years as an unknown "ash decline" so this campaign to recruit citizen scouts for Asian Longhorned beetles may be a particularly good idea (maple trees being #1 on the list of host trees).
Anybody else get a letter from the USDA?
The USDA has a Beetle Buster's web-page here: