(Agrilus planipennis)

Photo 44: David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org

Biology

• adult beetles are shiny green and 8-13 mm long (1/2 in)
• mature larvae are whitish and 26-32 mm (1-1 ¼ in)
• adults generally emerge in spring and summer and lay eggs during this period
• the beetle requires one or two years to develop from egg to adult
• adults and larvae can travel on firewood and nursery stock
• larvae tunnel under the outer bark and create serpentine feeding 'galleries'
• infected trees show yellowing and loss of leaves in the canopy, and suckers growing from the base of the trunk
• gradually, the damage spreads to the rest of the tree which eventually dies
• suckers that resprout from the base can live for several years

Photo 45: Daniel Herms, Ohio State University, Bugwood.org

History in Canada

• the beetle was introduced to North America from China probably in the 1990's but was not discovered until 2002 when it was found in Michigan and southwest Ontario in Essex County
• since then it has been found in Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, and Pennsylvania

Impact on Trees

• able to attack and kill healthy trees
• all native and introduced ash trees are susceptible
• ash trees are very widely planted
• the larvae consume the inner bark which strangles the tree
• infected trees die within one or two years
• southwestern Ontario from Windsor to London has been severely affected by the beetle where hundreds of thousands of ash trees have been killed

Photo 46: Art Wagner, USDA/APHIS/PPQ, Bugwood.org

Control

• the beetles are very difficult to kill
• the larvae feed under the bark and the adult's exit holes are very small making infestations difficult to detect early
• the main strategy has been to remove and destroy all ash trees in the area of an infestation and prohibit movement of any ash trees or firewood from the infested area
• a pilot study is underway involving a parasitic wasp

Links

• Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada. Alien forest insects: What's bugging us in Ontario? Emerald ash borer and Asian longhorned beetle. (http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/news/328)
• Emerald Ash Borer. Insects and Diseases of Canada's Forests. Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada. (http://imfc.cfl.scf.rncan.gc.ca/insecte-insect-eng.asp?geID=1000101)
• Ontario Woodlot Association. (http://www.ont-woodlot-assoc.org/sw_emeraldashborer.html)
• Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Natural Spaces Program. (http://www.naturalspaces.mnr.gov.on.ca/ashborer.html)
• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_ash_borer)
• The emerald ash borer: tiny, green, deadly. The Catalyst, Spring 2005. (http://www.carleton.ca/catalyst/2005/s4.html)
• National Invasive Species Information Center, USDA. (http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/animals/eab.shtml)
• Forest Health Alert. Emerald Ash Borer. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. (http://ontariosforests.mnr.gov.on.ca/spectrasites/viewers/showArticle.cfm?objectid=8C3E31...)