Ash Beetle Is In South Jersey

The emerald ash borer had already killed tens of millions of ash trees across 23 states and two Canadian provinces and spread across Pennsylvania and New York.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the destructive metallic-green beetle, measuring a half-inch long by one-eighth-inch wide, was found in a trap in Westampton, Burlington County. The state is now surveying areas where the insect has been to determine the extent of the infestation, officials said.

This year, N.J. is also expected to be included among states, including Pennsylvania and New York, quarantined by the federal government to limit the movement and sale of ash trees and their products, such as firewood. Wood recyclers, who turn trees into wood chips and mulch, also would be regulated.

“It’s probably one of the worst pests to come along in the past 200 years,” Pennsylvania state entomologist Sven-Erik Spichiger said. “When the emerald ash borer gets to an area, you have over a 99 percent mortality.”

“Obviously, this problem has not been controlled,” said Bob Williams, a certified forester and owner and founder of Pine Creek Forestry in Laurel Springs, Camden County, who has helped manage forests in several states. “My belief is that it’s here to stay, and I don’t see it stopping.

The beetles will likely spread along the Delaware River, where there are ash forests, he said.

 

New Jersey has used a computer model to check trees in Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Salem, Mercer, and Monmouth Counties and in counties north to determine the degree of infestation, state officials said.

“We want people to call us if they see any signs of the beetle on their ash trees,” said Lynne Richmond, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.

Her department, along with the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Forestry Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, set out more than 300 traps. This is the fourth year traps were set out.

The first signs of infestation include a canopy dieback beginning at the top of the tree and progressing through the year until the tree is bare; sprouts growing from the roots and trunk; split bark with an S-shape gallery; D-shaped exit holes; and more woodpecker activity, creating large holes as they extract the larvae.

Females lay eggs on the bark of ash trees. The eggs hatch, and the larvae bore through the bark to the fluid-conducting vessels underneath.

As the insects feed and develop, they cut off nutrients, eventually killing the tree, usually over three to five years.

For more information about the emerald ash borer, visit www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/forest/community/Emerald_Ash_Borer.htm. To report an infestation, call 609-406-6939.

Entire story at
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/destructive-ash-beetle-makes-way-into-south-jersey/article_8f0cda86-36fa-11e4-a21d-0019bb2963f4.html