The emerald ash borer, an emerald-green invasive insect species from China, has spread to parts of New York state. The insect's presence in Westchester and Broome County is confirmed. The small insect is expected to ravage New York state's ash tree population this year, killing an estimated 900 million trees. The 900 million trees at risk represent about 7 percent of the state's total ash tree population.
New York's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said that the spread of the emerald ash borer to parts of New York state was confirmed on Monday, November 3. The DEC said that the state was using a Slow Ash Mortality program (SLAM) to attempt to save the ash tree population. That program includes removing trees that are infected, tracking the spread of the invasive insect, and looking into pesticides that can kill the ash borer.
There is a chemical that can protect trees from the ash borer, but it is very costly. Homeowners with ash trees within a 15 mile radius of a confirmed emerald ash borer site are recommended to treat their ash trees with insecticide if they wish to save the tree. However, an article about EAB insecticide treatments suggests that the homeowner should weigh the costs of the insecticide against the worth of each individual ash tree, suggesting that not every ash tree is worth saving.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently said that the ash borer also attacked a new species of tree, the white fringe. This is troubling news.
"This is bringing up more questions than answers," said Tom Tiddens, an official at the Chicago Botanic Garden, said about the ash borer targeting fringe trees.
Officials still don't know whether ash borers would kill fringe trees, or attack them with the same rapacity as they are currently targeting ash trees.
The emerald ash borer works its destruction by disrupting the flow of water and nutrition to the tree.
The insect was first introduced to the US in 2002. It is believed that the insect came over on a shipment that contained ash wood. The insect first appeared in New York state in 2009, in Cattaraugus County.
