This spring when I walked the woods on the back 7 acres of my land it obvious that the mature hardwoods in the pristine woods that I am the steward for has a lot of Emerald Ash Borer damage. The trees in my wood cannot be saved.
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| from USDA |
The Emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, is an exotic beetle native of Asia that was discovered in southeastern Michigan near Detroit in the summer of 2002. The adult beetles nibble on ash foliage but cause little damage. However, the larvae feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients and ultimately killing the trees. Emerald ash borer probably arrived in the United States on solid wood packing material carried in cargo ships or airplanes originating in its native Asia. It has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America so far.
The Emerald Ash Borer was first found in Prince William County in 2010. In the following years trapping was used to track and monitor the Emerald Ash Borer as it spread across the county. At this point trapping is no longer being conducted and many ash trees in the county show symptoms of infestation; epicormic branching (water sprouts), canopy die back, woodpecker damage, and bark splits. To tell if you have Emerald Ash Borer in your trees look for the 1/8th inch diameter D shaped exit hole and larval galleries that are the signs of Emerald Ash Borer infestation.
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| from USDA |
The Emerald Ash Borer was first found in Prince William County in 2010. In the following years trapping was used to track and monitor the Emerald Ash Borer as it spread across the county. At this point trapping is no longer being conducted and many ash trees in the county show symptoms of infestation; epicormic branching (water sprouts), canopy die back, woodpecker damage, and bark splits. To tell if you have Emerald Ash Borer in your trees look for the 1/8th inch diameter D shaped exit hole and larval galleries that are the signs of Emerald Ash Borer infestation.
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| from USDA |
Pesticides can be applied to individual trees to protect them against Emerald Ash Borer and my be a way to save single ornamental lawn trees. For the pesticides to work the trees must be healthy and have at least 30% of their leaf canopy remaining. Pesticides must continue to be applied on a scheduled basis for protection. Different pesticides are available to homeowners or state certified pesticide applicators. Many ash trees will not be treated with pesticides; some trees may be too unhealthy, too small, or pesticides may be cost-prohibitive or undesired. I could not possibly apply enough pesticides to save the woods and in truth to protect my groundwater I would not consider doing that. It is just difficult to know that almost all ash trees will continue to decline and die.
While the ash trees in my woods are lost. There is hope for the future. Beginning in 2015 the Prince William Public Works Department became cooperators with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Protection and Quarantine EAB Biocontrol Program. Biological control (biocontrol) is the reduction of pest populations through the use of natural enemies such as parasites (stingless wasps), predators, pathogens, antagonists (to control plant diseases), or competitors. USDA research in the Emerals Ash Borer native China identified three potential biological control agents that are stingless wasps—Spathius agrili, Tetrastichus planipennisi, and Oobius agrili.
Following testing, USDA prepared an environmental assessment that outlined the risks and benefits of releasing the stingless wasps. The wasps specifically hunted Emerald Ash Borer to an acceptable degree and were not expected to attack other insect species except for incidental attacks on other wood-boring species. USDA then prepared a “finding of no significant impact,” and with approval from the State of Michigan, USDA released the wasps in July 2007. Since that time, one or more species of the wasps have been released in 19 States: Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The three species of wasps were introduced at two sites in Prince William County in 2015 as the first step in a multi-year process. The release sites were Silver Lake in Haymarket and Davis Tract in Manassas. A total of 34,574 wasps were released in Prince William County (about 3% of the national total). Silver Lake is about 3 miles as the bug flies from my woods. Too far until the population of parasite wasps grows and spreads. In truth, the stingless wasps will not eradicate the Emerald Ash Borer. However, they will be used in an integrated pest management plan to help control the pest.
While the ash trees in my woods are lost. There is hope for the future. Beginning in 2015 the Prince William Public Works Department became cooperators with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Protection and Quarantine EAB Biocontrol Program. Biological control (biocontrol) is the reduction of pest populations through the use of natural enemies such as parasites (stingless wasps), predators, pathogens, antagonists (to control plant diseases), or competitors. USDA research in the Emerals Ash Borer native China identified three potential biological control agents that are stingless wasps—Spathius agrili, Tetrastichus planipennisi, and Oobius agrili.
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| from Prince William County |
Following testing, USDA prepared an environmental assessment that outlined the risks and benefits of releasing the stingless wasps. The wasps specifically hunted Emerald Ash Borer to an acceptable degree and were not expected to attack other insect species except for incidental attacks on other wood-boring species. USDA then prepared a “finding of no significant impact,” and with approval from the State of Michigan, USDA released the wasps in July 2007. Since that time, one or more species of the wasps have been released in 19 States: Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The three species of wasps were introduced at two sites in Prince William County in 2015 as the first step in a multi-year process. The release sites were Silver Lake in Haymarket and Davis Tract in Manassas. A total of 34,574 wasps were released in Prince William County (about 3% of the national total). Silver Lake is about 3 miles as the bug flies from my woods. Too far until the population of parasite wasps grows and spreads. In truth, the stingless wasps will not eradicate the Emerald Ash Borer. However, they will be used in an integrated pest management plan to help control the pest.
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