Emerald Ash Borer
New: Mayor declares May 17 to 23, 2010 as EAB Awareness Week
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has taken action to limit the spread of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) by issuing a ministerial order to prohibit movement of firewood, and ash-tree products such as nursery stock, logs, branches and wood chips from areas of Ottawa and Gatineau to any other surrounding regions.
About the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was discovered in Ottawa in 2008 within the St. Laurent Boulevard and Highway 417 area.
Photo courtesy of David Cappaert, Michigan State University
Emerald ash borer is a non-native, highly destructive wood-boring beetle that feeds under the bark of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). All species of ash are susceptible to attack, except mountain ash (Sorbus spp.), which is not an ash species. EAB has killed millions of ash trees in Ontario and many parts of the United States. It poses a major economic and environmental threat to urban and forested areas across Canada and the U.S.
EAB was first noticed in North America in June 2002 in Michigan. It has since crossed the border into Canada, affecting many cities in southwestern Ontario. Since that time the beetle has been found in many municipalities in Ontario. Most of these new findings are linked to human-assisted movement of EAB. Since the insect spends most of its lifecycle under the bark of trees, it can be easily moved with firewood or other tree materials such as nursery stock, logs, brush and larger wood chips.
What EAB does
Emerald ash borers normally have a one-year life cycle but some can take up to two years to mature. EAB lays it eggs on tree bark and in bark crevices starting in late May.
In its larva form, which resembles a caterpillar, emerald ash borer feeds in an S-shaped pattern just under the bark of ash trees. This feeding disrupts the tree’s transportation of water and nutrients. The presence of even a few insects in one tree can completely cut off a tree’s transport system, effectively killing it.
Top branches of ash trees usually die off first. In fact, trees can lose half its branches in a single year. Once larvae finish feeding under the bark, they mature into adult beetles that chew their way out of the tree through D-shaped exit holes. Infested ash trees in North America generally die after two to three years, but heavily infested trees have been observed to die after one year of beetle attack.
Researchers indicate that the Emerald Ash Borer cannot be eradicated from North America.
