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Emerald Ash Borer
Going Green
Going Green: Emerald Ash Borer
Ash trees are being killed by beetles called the emerald ash borer.
“The Emerald Ash Borer is a small beetle that was brought into the United States from Asia, probably on wood-packing material and since its discovery in 2002 near Detroit, Michigan it has caused the demise of hundreds, thousands, millions of ash trees,” said Dr. Melissa Fierke, SUNY-ESF.
Ash is a popular tree for landscapes and to make baseball bats like the Louisville Slugger and tool handles.
“And it looks set to cause the extinction of ash in North America so Fraxinus species as we know it will no longer be in the United States and Canada because there is one-hundred percent mortality associated with this beetle,” said Fierke.
The destructive beetle is now found in thirteen states and two Canadian provinces and earlier this year in Randolph, New York. It's not easy to spot in the early stages of infestation.
“That's why an infestation can be present for quite awhile before it's even noticed. The Randolph infestation was probably there four to six years before we noticed it, and that was with technicians driving from New York to do research on Emerald Ash Borer in Michigan,” said Fierke.
So an early warning system is being organized using the solitary digger wasp.
“This wasp hunts, almost exclusively, in a single family of beetles. It uses them as its prey, like the metallic wood borers we collected today also include Emerald Ash Borer,” said Warren Hellman, SUNY ESF graduate student.
Nesting areas are being identified across New York where volunteers will use a piece of plastic with a hole punched in it to collect beetle samples.
The hole is large enough to allow the wasp to go in but small enough to prevent the wasp from going in with a beetle. Then researchers will know when the Emerald Ash Borer has reached a new area and take measures to slow its spread.
