Invaders: Emerald Ash Borer

http://www.mda.state.mn.us Emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive beetle that attacks and kills ash trees. It was found in Minnesota in a St. Paul neighborhood in May, 2009 and has since been found in Minneapolis. On April 29, 2010 MDA officials announced the finding of the insect in Houston County, in extreme southeastern Minnesota. Officials are stepping up monitoring efforts and alerting residents about the destructive tree pest's ability to spread by hiding in firewood.

Want to learn more about EAB and its threaten to Minnesota's forests? Check out our video, "Invaders At Our Doorstep: Exotic Forest Pests of the Midwest". Find out how the Minnesota Department of Agriculture monitors and manages this pest.

For more information on emerald ash borer, go to http://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants/pestmanagement/eab.aspx

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Emerald
• ash
• borer
• EAB
• Minnesota
• Department
• of
• Agriculture
• MDA
• MN
• trees
• exotic
• pest
• forests
• destructive
• firewood
• beetle
• St.
• Paul
• Minneapolis
• Houston
• County

[islandboi321]

This insect will wreck wholesale damage once it reaches the Canadian Prairies.  Green and black ash account for high percentages of trees in the landscape and in local woodlands.

In a city like Saskatoon, Sask., where few large broadleaf trees are hardy and Fraxinus and Ulmus american account for 90% of the mature urban forest, the havoc will be almost uncomprehensible. Dutch Elm disease is at the doorstep, EAB only a few years away.

[mnagriculture]

The closest discovery of emerald ash borer has been in Victory, WI. That's approximately one mile from the Minnesota border. According to MDA officials on April 23, 2009, evidence suggests the Victory infestation has been in place for several years. Because the beetle can move several miles a year on its own, a precautionary quarantine has been put in place for Houston County, MN. At this time, no EAB has been found in Minnesota.