Quarantines failed to stop the spread of the emerald ash borer, which has killed tens of millions of ash trees in North America, so the USDA said on Monday it will take a new approach against the half-inch-long beetle. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said it will combat the pest by releasing biological control agents, adding “results have already proved effective.”
Since it was first discovered in southeastern Michigan near Detroit in 2002, possibly arriving from its native Asia in wooden packing material, the green-colored beetle has spread across much of the United States. The adults nibble on foliage of the hardwood trees but cause little damage. Their larvae feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting their ability to transport water and nutrients, and eventually killing them.
The agency said its goal was to maintain ash trees in the North American landscape. APHIS is working with the National Plant Board on strategies to manage movement of firewood, one of the ways that the pest spreads.