Photo Credit: earthtimes.org

The iconic maples, which attract so many tourists to the multicoloured New England autumn, could be under threat from an invading beetle says the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The Asian longhorned beetle is the alien species in question and scientists who have carried out the first study of its numbers fear it could spread from tree-lined city streets to the north east's beautiful maple forests.

The results of the study appear in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research.