Emerald ash borers are small green beetles that are devastating forests in Midwestern states.
Native to Asia and eastern Russia, this insect is considered a potentially dangerous invasive species in other areas of the world. The animal can devastate ash trees wherever they travel.
The tiny animals were first seen in America in 2002, when they were found in Detroit. In just 12 years, the species spread to 12 states, destroying 50 million ash trees.
Agrilus planipennis is only one-third of an inch long, and 1/16th of an inch wide. They have a ftat head, marked by black eyes. Each female may lay up to 100 eggs in her lifetime.
Ash borers are taking a severe toll on areas like Madison Wisconsin, where 7,500 ash trees have already been damaged so badly by the insects; city officials have marked them for destruction. Another 12,500 trees will be treated with pesticides to keep the beetles from attacking.
"The total public cost of treatment, removing trees and stumps, replanting and related personnel expenses could exceed a staggering $19.1 million - roughly the combined cost of a new library branch, police station and 14 Metro Transit buses - through 2020," Dean Mosiman reported.
Residents in Iowa are also struggling with the actions of the destructive beetle.
"Most people have already heard the problem is here and that it doesn't mean good things. Instead of the info just being doom-focused, we are really trying to give people options for how they can prepare," Shane Donegan, urban forestry specialist at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said.
One of the reasons the beetle is so destructive is because the animal eats under the bark, destroying mechanisms for the transport of essential nutrients and water.
Later this year, workers will don special tanks and inject healthy trees with a compound that will discourage A. planipennis from digging into the organisms.
The city of Madison also marked trees for removal, including all individuals with diameters under 10 inches that are in poor health, or located under power lines. The vast number of such markings has shocked some residents.
Activists in this college-dominated city insist the trees can survive the ash borer onslaught. Some have removed the yellow dot from trees, hoping to save them from city workers.
