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You might be noticing a lot of tall purple boxes hanging in local trees along the road. These purple sticky traps are used statewide to monitor for the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), which is an exotic wood boring beetle that has killed at least 25 million ash trees in North America.
EAB was detected for the first time in West Virginia in October 2007 in Fayette County. An EAB larva was discovered in a "trap tree" that had been prepared by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture's Plant Industries Division to survey for the beetle, which has been found previously in surrounding states.
Trap trees are intentionally damaged to provide an attractive tree for the beetles to inhabit, if they are present. The survey programs are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service (USDA-FS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA-APHIS-PPQ).
The insect was most likely spread by movement of firewood from an infested area. A State quarantine, effective as of January 2, 2008, prohibits the movement of all hardwood firewood, any ash logs/green lumber, ash trees/seedlings, or any ash parts or products out of Fayette County unless accompanied by a certificate or permit.
State Department of Agriculture officials were surprised to find the beetle as far south as Fayette County, because the closest known areas of infestation are in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Therefore, the Northern Panhandle of the State would have been the most likely place to find the pest.
The emerald ash borer is believed to have been introduced into the U.S. in wood packing material from China. It was first identified in Michigan and has since spread to Indiana, Ohio Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Only species of ash are hosts for the beetle, which usually kill infested trees within a couple of years. The movement of EAB-infested firewood is an important pathway for moving the beetle and is believed to be how the insect found its way to Fayette County.
The emerald ash borer adult is dark metallic green in color, 3/4 inch in length and 1/16 inch wide. Larvae are creamy white in color and are found under the bark. The adult beetles typically make a D-shaped exit hole when they emerge.
For more information or to report an EAB infestation, please call the West Virginia Department of Agriculture at (304)256-6742 or (304)558-2212.
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