RJ
07-30-2007, 11:20 AM
DEC Q-and-A: Emerald Ash Borer
New York's forests are under attack from numerous invasive exotic insect pests. In years past* we have been hit with Chestnut blight* European gypsy moth* Dutch elm disease and Beech bark disease* all with devastating results. Recently* we have discovered Asian long-horned beetles* Hemlock wooly adelgids* Pine shoot beetles and Sirex woodwasps infesting New York's urban and rural forests and killing thousands of trees.
Another potentially devastating insect invaders* the Emerald Ash Borer* has been moving west from Michigan and has been found recently in Pennsylvania.
Question: What is the Emerald Ash Borer and what does it do?
Answer: This Asian beetle* discovered in 2002 in southeastern Michigan and Windsor* Ont.* infests and kills North American ash species (Fraxinus sp.) including green* white* black and blue ash.
Damage is caused by the larvae* which feed in tunnels (called
galleries) in the phloem just below the bark. The serpentine galleries disrupt water and nutrient transport* causing branches* and eventually the entire tree* to die. Death often occurs rapidly* within two to three years* depending on level of infestation.
Q: Can you see it? What does it look like?
A: EAB adults are dark metallic green in color* with a coppery red or purple abdomen. Individuals are 3/8 to 5/8 inch long and 1/16-inch wide.
Adults may be present from late May to September* or later* but are typically most common in June and July. Adults may be seen when present* but are sometimes hard to find* especially at low infestation levels.
Larvae are creamy white in color and are found under the bark* so are not obvious* but their expanding S-shaped galleries may be seen if the bark is knocked off or removed. Larvae themselves are very small and hard to see.
As they mature and emerge* adult beetles leave distinctive D-shaped exit holes in the outer bark of branches and the trunk. Their presence typically goes undetected until trees show symptoms of being infested.
PHOTO: http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7253.html
Q: Where is it now?
A: Southeastern Michigan* where the pest was first detected in North America* is heavily infested. EAB has also been found in Illinois* Indiana* Ohio* Southern Ontario and* just last month* in Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh). It is roughly 75 miles from our borders.
Q: How does it migrate?
A: EAB is not a particularly strong flier. Adults typically fly less than * mile from the tree their emergence tree* although redsearch has indicated they can fly a kilometer or more. Most long-distance movement of EAB has been directly traced to ash firewood or ash nursery stock.
Other untreated ash wood and ash product movement (logs* lumber* pallets* etc) generally present lesser risks. Wood chips or mulch are considered to pose no risk of movement.
Q: Why should New York care? How serious is this?
A: The estimated annual contribution of forest-based manufacturing and forest related recreation and tourism to the New York State economy is over $9 billion. Ash species (white* green and black) comprise almost 8% of all trees in NY state.
Ash is a commercially-valuable species* and is used for baseball bats* furniture lumber* and pallet manufacture. Black ash is also prized by Native American tribes* including the Akwesasne* for traditional basket making. More importantly* ash is a very common street tree in many New York communities. It was widely planted to replace native elms lost to Dutch elm disease. In Michigan* the greatest economic impact has been on communities faced with removal of thousands of dead ash on streets and in yards. Many of these dead trees pose significant public safety hazards and liability problems for municipalities.
Q: What action is the state taking or recommending?
A: The State has been taking several actions over the past several years.
- We have been cooperating with NYS Dept. of Agriculture & Markets and U.S.D.A. on surveying and monitoring efforts aimed at early detection of this insect. For the past several years we have deployed baited traps and established "trap trees" in an attempt to determine if EAB is present in our forests.
- We have cooperated in research efforts on trapping and detection methods for EAB and other invasive forest pests.
- This year* we initiated a major outreach and information campaign aimed at users of state campgrounds alerting them to the dangers of moving firewood and asking them not to move firewood* and buy firewood locally instead.
- We have been investigating response strategies to the potential discovery of EAB in NY.
- We have been exploring and discussing the idea of a firewood quarantine or ban on firewood coming into State Parks and campgrounds (as many other States have instituted)* and how to make that work.
- We have been communicating and collaborating with other groups* agencies and States regarding the need to deal with firewood movement as a vector for invasive species on a regional* if not national level.
DEC*s firewood webpage: http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/28722.html
US Forest Service firewood webpage:
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/eab/firewood/
USDA APHIS Cooperative Emerald ash borer program webpage:
http://www.emeraldashborer.info
US Forest Service Emerald ash borer webpage:
http://na.fs.fed.us/fhp/eab/
USDA APHIS Emerald ash borer webpage:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/emerald_ash_b/index.shtml
PA Dept. Of Agriculture Emerald ash borer webpage:
http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/agriculture/cwp/view.asp?a=3&Q=144707&PM=1
OH Dept. Of Agriculture Emerald ash borer webpage:
http://www.ohioagriculture.gov/eab/
DEC Contact: Yancey Roy 518-402-8000.
Mary Young
Media Relations
NYS DEC
625 Broadway
Albany* NY 12233-1016
518-402-8000
New York's forests are under attack from numerous invasive exotic insect pests. In years past* we have been hit with Chestnut blight* European gypsy moth* Dutch elm disease and Beech bark disease* all with devastating results. Recently* we have discovered Asian long-horned beetles* Hemlock wooly adelgids* Pine shoot beetles and Sirex woodwasps infesting New York's urban and rural forests and killing thousands of trees.
Another potentially devastating insect invaders* the Emerald Ash Borer* has been moving west from Michigan and has been found recently in Pennsylvania.
Question: What is the Emerald Ash Borer and what does it do?
Answer: This Asian beetle* discovered in 2002 in southeastern Michigan and Windsor* Ont.* infests and kills North American ash species (Fraxinus sp.) including green* white* black and blue ash.
Damage is caused by the larvae* which feed in tunnels (called
galleries) in the phloem just below the bark. The serpentine galleries disrupt water and nutrient transport* causing branches* and eventually the entire tree* to die. Death often occurs rapidly* within two to three years* depending on level of infestation.
Q: Can you see it? What does it look like?
A: EAB adults are dark metallic green in color* with a coppery red or purple abdomen. Individuals are 3/8 to 5/8 inch long and 1/16-inch wide.
Adults may be present from late May to September* or later* but are typically most common in June and July. Adults may be seen when present* but are sometimes hard to find* especially at low infestation levels.
Larvae are creamy white in color and are found under the bark* so are not obvious* but their expanding S-shaped galleries may be seen if the bark is knocked off or removed. Larvae themselves are very small and hard to see.
As they mature and emerge* adult beetles leave distinctive D-shaped exit holes in the outer bark of branches and the trunk. Their presence typically goes undetected until trees show symptoms of being infested.
PHOTO: http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7253.html
Q: Where is it now?
A: Southeastern Michigan* where the pest was first detected in North America* is heavily infested. EAB has also been found in Illinois* Indiana* Ohio* Southern Ontario and* just last month* in Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh). It is roughly 75 miles from our borders.
Q: How does it migrate?
A: EAB is not a particularly strong flier. Adults typically fly less than * mile from the tree their emergence tree* although redsearch has indicated they can fly a kilometer or more. Most long-distance movement of EAB has been directly traced to ash firewood or ash nursery stock.
Other untreated ash wood and ash product movement (logs* lumber* pallets* etc) generally present lesser risks. Wood chips or mulch are considered to pose no risk of movement.
Q: Why should New York care? How serious is this?
A: The estimated annual contribution of forest-based manufacturing and forest related recreation and tourism to the New York State economy is over $9 billion. Ash species (white* green and black) comprise almost 8% of all trees in NY state.
Ash is a commercially-valuable species* and is used for baseball bats* furniture lumber* and pallet manufacture. Black ash is also prized by Native American tribes* including the Akwesasne* for traditional basket making. More importantly* ash is a very common street tree in many New York communities. It was widely planted to replace native elms lost to Dutch elm disease. In Michigan* the greatest economic impact has been on communities faced with removal of thousands of dead ash on streets and in yards. Many of these dead trees pose significant public safety hazards and liability problems for municipalities.
Q: What action is the state taking or recommending?
A: The State has been taking several actions over the past several years.
- We have been cooperating with NYS Dept. of Agriculture & Markets and U.S.D.A. on surveying and monitoring efforts aimed at early detection of this insect. For the past several years we have deployed baited traps and established "trap trees" in an attempt to determine if EAB is present in our forests.
- We have cooperated in research efforts on trapping and detection methods for EAB and other invasive forest pests.
- This year* we initiated a major outreach and information campaign aimed at users of state campgrounds alerting them to the dangers of moving firewood and asking them not to move firewood* and buy firewood locally instead.
- We have been investigating response strategies to the potential discovery of EAB in NY.
- We have been exploring and discussing the idea of a firewood quarantine or ban on firewood coming into State Parks and campgrounds (as many other States have instituted)* and how to make that work.
- We have been communicating and collaborating with other groups* agencies and States regarding the need to deal with firewood movement as a vector for invasive species on a regional* if not national level.
DEC*s firewood webpage: http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/28722.html
US Forest Service firewood webpage:
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/eab/firewood/
USDA APHIS Cooperative Emerald ash borer program webpage:
http://www.emeraldashborer.info
US Forest Service Emerald ash borer webpage:
http://na.fs.fed.us/fhp/eab/
USDA APHIS Emerald ash borer webpage:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/emerald_ash_b/index.shtml
PA Dept. Of Agriculture Emerald ash borer webpage:
http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/agriculture/cwp/view.asp?a=3&Q=144707&PM=1
OH Dept. Of Agriculture Emerald ash borer webpage:
http://www.ohioagriculture.gov/eab/
DEC Contact: Yancey Roy 518-402-8000.
Mary Young
Media Relations
NYS DEC
625 Broadway
Albany* NY 12233-1016
518-402-8000