Written by Billie S Pieters
Harding students come from forty-nine of the fifty states and fifty-three foreign countries. Many students driving to school could have seen some odd purple boxes hanging in trees. These boxes are tracking the spread of a notorious killer, a tree killer that is.The Emerald Ash Boreris spreading across the nation and could infest Arkansas. The natural state could start seeing signs of the beetle soon and throughout the next few years.The beetle, originally from Asia, has caused the death of over 50 million Ash trees in North America and was first discovered in southeastern Michigan in 2002. Since then it has spread to Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, New York, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Missouri’s sighting occurred just 50 miles north of Corning, AR.
Infestation could be caused by the importation of infested nursery stock, infested firewood and infested ash timber destined for Arkansas mills. Those camping should buy local firewood at campsites and burn all the wood on site; as transportation of infested firewood from state to state is the most common spread of the beetle.The trees infested usually die within two years. The borer destroys the water and nutrient-conducting tissues under the bark as the larva feeds on the inner bark of the trees. The canopy of the tree thins out over infestations of the trunk and large limbs. The emerald ash borer is a metallic green and around a half an inch long. If you are someone you know suspect emerald ash borer you should contact your county extension office after fully identifying the insect.
