Bakersfield, California – Families walking at The Park at River Walk and cyclists riding the Kern River Parkway Trail are being urged to act immediately if they spot a destructive invasive beetle capable of killing hardwood trees across Kern County this spring.
According to the U.S. Forest Service and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the Asian longhorned beetle attacks maple, birch, willow, poplar and elm trees. Officials warn the insect burrows deep into trunks, cutting off nutrients and weakening trees long before visible dieback appears.
The Park at River Walk, Hart Memorial Park and Panorama Vista Preserve feature clusters of hardwoods that provide shade along the Kern River and across heavily used picnic areas. Similar tree cover stretches into neighborhoods in Oildale and along riparian corridors where spring temperatures are already climbing.
The beetle is glossy black with bright white spots and long black-and-white banded antennae that extend beyond its body. Visitors may notice perfectly round exit holes in trunks or sawdust-like material collecting at the base of trees.
If infestations spread, weakened limbs could snap during gusty spring wind events common in the southern San Joaquin Valley, creating hazards along trails and park roads.
Officials urge residents and park visitors to kill the beetle on sight if safely possible and report sightings immediately to state agriculture authorities. Early detection this season could prevent widespread tree removal and protect Bakersfield’s riverfront canopy into summer.
