Tonawanda News - ENVIRONMENT: Asian beetle has potentially devastating taste for ash trees
By John Hopkins
The Tonawanda News
An invasive green species has arrived in Western New York, and state officials are taking up arms to eradicate the creatures.
Although it doesn’t pose a threat to humans, the Emerald Ash Borer — a type of beetle native to Asia — has the potential to wipe out the ash tree population, on a grander scale than what Dutch elm disease did to urban landscapes in the 1960s and 1970s.
It would also, state officials say, have an impact on the state and national economies. The eastern United States produces nearly 114 million board-feet (1-foot wide, 1-foot long and 1-inch thick) of ash timber at a value of $25.1 million. When you factor in other businesses that benefit from ash wood, the economic losses nationwide could be more than $20 billion.
It is a beautiful looking insect and the woodpeckers go nuts for it. What a shame that, out of its native Asia, it has the potential to wipe out so many trees.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to spot an infected tree before it is too late - the most obvious sign is a lot of woodpecker activity on an Ash tree that is showing signs of branches dying. If you happen to spot this, report it right away.