Emerald Ash Borer:Control May Be on the Horizon

A tiny, brilliant green wood-boring beetle - the emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, has become a substantial threat to the existence of ash species growing in the Northeast, Midwest, and eventually the South as well. Ash trees infested with larvae of the EAB usually die within 3 years. The non-native EAB was first detected in Detroit, MI, and Windsor, Ontario, and has since been found at sites throughout Michigan (2002), Ohio (2003), and Indiana (2004). It has also been found at isolated sites in Michigan''s Upper Peninsula (2002), Illinois (2006), Maryland and Virginia (2003), and most recently in Pennsylvania and West Virginia (2007). Movement of ash logs is quarantined in infested counties in the United States and Canada. State and federal officials have been working to slow down or contain the infestations, hoping to give scientists time to develop an effective treatment or find natural enemies for controlling the EAB. Forest health officials in states bordering the infested areas are preparing for the inevitable and eventual discovery of EAB in their area.

View the Winter 2008 Research Review (1 MB PDF)

For more information contact

Rebecca Nisley 
Newsletter Editor 
USDA Forest Service - Northern Research Station 
51 Mill Pond Road 
Hamden, CT 06514

203-230-4338