 The tree-killing beetle was discovered in Hasselroth Park by an
Illinois Department of Agriculture employee. Because no
infestations of the pest previously had been confirmed in the
county, the department submitted larva it collected at the park
to USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for
identification. On Sept. 27 the agency confirmed the specimen as
emerald ash borer.Rock Island is the 31st Illinois county
with a known infestation of emerald ash borer. The detection
there followed finds in Jo Daviess and Whiteside counties
earlier this summer and effectively means the beetle is now
located throughout the northern third of the state.
"The devastation of urban tree canopies is becoming more and
more noticeable in communities throughout northern Illinois, and
people are asking what they can do about it," said Scott
Schirmer, program manager for emerald ash borer. "Treatment is
certainly an option for some ash-tree owners. However, while
considering treatment to conserve high-value ash, it's also a
good time to evaluate the canopy landscape in your area and
begin reforesting with other species of trees and diversifying
your own backyard canopies."
The emerald ash borer is a small, metallic-green beetle
native to Asia. Its larvae burrow into the bark of ash trees,
causing the trees to starve and eventually die. Since the first
detection of the pest near Detroit, Mich., in 2002, it has
killed more than 25 million ash trees.
The beetle often is difficult to detect, especially in newly
infested trees. Signs of infestation include thinning and
yellowing leaves, "D"-shaped holes in the bark of the trunk or
branches, and basal shoots. Anyone who suspects an ash tree has
been infested should contact their county Extension office,
their village forester or the Illinois Department of
Agriculture.
Forty-one Illinois counties currently are under quarantine to
prevent the artificial or "human-assisted" spread of the beetle
through the movement of infested wood and nursery stock. A new,
new amended quarantine that includes Rock Island, Jo Daviess and
Whiteside counties soon will be put in place, but not until
after the Department of Agriculture has finished inspecting
monitoring traps that were placed in the state this year to
track the beetle.
[to top of second column] |
The quarantine prohibits the removal of the following items:
-
The emerald ash
borer in any living stage of development.
-
Ash trees of any
size.
-
Ash limbs and
branches.
-
Any cut,
non-coniferous firewood.
-
Bark from ash
trees and wood chips larger than 1 inch from ash trees.
-
Ash logs and
lumber with either the bark or the outer 1-inch of sapwood, or
both, attached.
-
Any item made from
or containing the wood of the ash tree that is capable of
spreading the emerald ash borer.
-
Any other article, product or means of
conveyance determined by the Illinois Department of Agriculture
to present a risk of spreading the beetle infestation.
The counties under quarantine are Boone, Bureau, Champaign,
Clark, Coles, Cook, Cumberland, DeKalb, DeWitt, Douglas, DuPage,
Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Grundy, Henry, Iroquois, Kane,
Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Macon,
Marion, Marshall, McHenry, McLean, Moultrie, Ogle, Piatt, Putnam,
Shelby, Stark, Vermilion, Will, Winnebago and Woodford.
For further information about the beetle, visit
www.IllinoisEAB.com on the
Internet.
[Text from
Illinois Department of
Agriculture
file received from the
Illinois Office of Communication and Information]
 |
