Since it was first discovered in a St. Paul neighborhood in 2009, the invasive emerald ash borer has slowly munched its way northwestward across the state, and has now reached the doorstep of the largest stretch of ash forest in North America.
That has researchers scrambling to learn more about how the invasive pest is faring in Minnesota’s quickly warming winters, and preparing for what might follow an ash borer invasion in the state’s northern forests.
Last fall, a crew from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture spotted the tell-tale signs of an emerald ash borer, or EAB, infestation in the Chippewa National Forest, next to Big Rice Lake near the small town of Remer.
Earlier this month, U.S. Forest Service biologist Rob Venette pointed out black ash trees with their bark split open. Their bark was pockmarked with woodpecker holes — the birds eat emerald ash borer larvae.
“What’s really distinctive about these is they have this serpentine pattern. So they’re feeding back and forth,” explained Venette, who also directs the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center at the University of Minnesota.
All around this small grove he points out infected trees. Within three years, all will likely be dead. Hundreds of the insect larvae will target a single tree, tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that moves nutrients up and down the trunk.
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Photo Credit: gettyimages-eugenesergeev
Categories: Minnesota, Crops