Saturday Shorts : A Bright Side to the Cold?

The Winter of 2014 has been one to remember – with record cold throughout most of the northern tier of the Midwest and the Northeast. With both heating bills and winter fatigue on the rise, it’s hard to see an upside to these Arctic temperatures, but there may be one.

There has been some speculation that the cold temperatures of this December and January may have killed off some of the invasive insects that have plagued us in recent years, particularly the Emerald Ash Borer. University of Minnesota researchers floated the idea that this winter's historic cold could be the tipping point in the war against the Emerald Ash Borer Agrilus planipennis (EAB), the tiny, beautiful beetle that threatens the nation’s ash trees. They speculate that the harsh winter can halt the spread of EAB to the heart of the state where most of Minnesota’s ash trees are located. That would give the surrounding communities time to remove diseased tress, and perhaps halt the devastation. 

The beautiful, destructive, EAB

The USDA Forest Service published a paper predicting that when EAB larvae “reach -17.8°C (0°F), 5% will die; at -23°C (-10°F), 34% will die; at -29°C (-20°F), 79% will die; and at -34°C (-30°F), 98% will die.”

Residents of the Twin Cities experienced 84 straight sub-zero hours, with the coldest temperatures in the range of -20°F to -26°F. [Brrr, that's cold!] In my mind, things are looking pretty good for Minnesota.

Our cold temperatures in Connecticut are nothing compared to these, but we’ve certainly been below 0° and EAB is not as firmly entrenched in our state as it is in Minnesota.

The jury is still out on what the EAB larval death toll from this cold snap will be. We should have a better idea come spring. It is nice to contemplate the possibility that some good may come from these far lower than normal temperatures.

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

Joining Hands for a Better World: 12.14.13

On December 3, I set out on a pre-Christmas challenge — to post a tip a day we can collectively follow with the goal of making the world a better place. 

Today’s suggestion: Don’t Move Firewood

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire may sound like a grand idea, especially on a frigid day like today with snow blanketing the streets, and forcing changes to holiday shopping and partying plans. Here in New England it's a good day to stay close to home.

But be warned about where you get the wood for your fire. This beautiful little beetle picture below is a harmful invader from Asia. It is the Emerald Ash Borer, Agrilus planipennis, (EAB), and it is wreaking havoc on America’s ash trees. Since it was discovered near Detroit, Michigan in 2002, the EAB has destroyed tens of millions of ash trees from Colorado to Connecticut, and from Quebec to Texas. EAB has been identified in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and 22 US states, including Connecticut, where it has been officially documented in four counties.

How the EAB arrived in the US, and how it spread so quickly is most likely through transportation of wood — originally on solid wood packing material and now on infested nursery stock and logs sold as firewood.

There  are quarantines and fines in place to prevent potentially infested wood from moving out of areas where the ash borer has been detected. It is against the law to transport wood out of Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, and New Haven counties in Connecticut. 

Generally speaking, it’s not a good idea to move wood even if EAB has not yet been discovered in the area. EAB is in residence long before its presence is noted, usually by its tell-tale galleries discovered in weakened trees. 

Why take a chance? 

I bet this is not the holiday tip you expected. But the danger is a real one, and as a tree-lover and gardener, I take and make any opportunity I can to spread the word about this invasive species.

Please, do your bit and only use firewood of the hyper-local variety. 

That’s it for today. “See you tomorrow.”

“All together now,” as the Beatles once sang. Let’s see how much good we can do over the next few weeks.

Saturday Short Subjects: The Growing Threat of EAB

Since 2006, Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Awareness Week has been held the week before Memorial Day, with the goal of educating as many people as possible about the destructive powers of this tiny invasive pest and the ways they can help to prevent its spread. 

The beautiful, destructive adult EAB

Why this particular week? The Memorial Day weekend marks the start of Summer vacation season — when Americans are on the move — camping out, spending time in their weekend cabins, and building campfires. One of the main messages of EAB Awareness Week is : DO NOT MOVE FIREWOOD.

Although the mature EAB Agrilus planipennis beetle can fly, moving firewood has accelerated its spread. EAB’s natural range is Russia, northern China, Japan, and North Korea. It was first discovered in North America near Detroit in 2002, most likely arriving in this country in packing material. EAB has since been detected in two Canadian provinces and 19 states in the northeastern US.

In Asia, the EAB is kept in check by its native predators, three species of non-stinging parasitoid wasps. In North America it has no enemies.

One would not think that such a beautiful and minute creature could wreak such destruction. It only targets ash  Fraxinus trees. EAB is a killer in its larval stage when it feeds internally in the ash’s cambium and phloem layers, disrupting the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients, and leaving telltale galleries. All ashes are at risk, although green ash is the favorite. Trees under stress are the most susceptible. EAB is responsible for the loss of tens of millions of trees in SE Michigan alone, and tens of millions of others elsewhere.

On Monday of this week, the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection released the news that the Emerald Ash Borer had been detected in Hamden, a town bordering on the City of New Haven. A homeowner submitted a report and photos of EAB galleries in a dying ash to the office of the state Entomologist who then confirmed the findings. First detected in Connecticut last summer by a CT master gardener, EAB has now been found in nine towns in New Haven County. 

A quarantine regulating the movement of ash nursery stock and ash materials from within New Haven has been in effect since then.  Regulations are also in effect regulating the movement of firewood from out-of-state into Connecticut. 

I can’t say this enough. DON’T MOVE FIREWOOD.

The states and provinces where EAB has been detected have joined forces to create and maintain a website, www.emeralashborer.info, with the latest information about this pest.

What else can a concerned citizen do to stop the spread of this pest?

First, learn and watch for the signs of EAB infestation. 

Report it. 

If you are a homeowner with prized ashes on your property, learn about the options for protecting them. There are a variety of systemic insecticidal treatments available, but they currently require a commitment to annual application. 

Non-stinging wasps from Asia are now being raised and released in a controlled program in the hope that they will help control EAB, but it is far too early to tell.

The most important action remains. DON’T MOVE FIREWOOD. Pass it on.

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

EAB Arrives in New Haven County!

They are here. These tiny, iridescent, green invaders were discovered in Connecticut on Monday. The arrival of the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) was confirmed on Wednesday USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service (USDA APHIS-PPQ) offices in Michigan and DC, and the news was reported by the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) in a news conference on Friday.

Connecticut joins 15 other states where infestations of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) have been detected. Discovered near Detroit in the summer of 2002, EAB probably arrived in the United States on solid wood packing material carried in cargo ships or planes originating in its native Asia.The EAB is responsible for the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees, of all species, from the Mid-West to New York State and south to Tennessee. It is a small, metallic green beetle, approximately 1/2 inch long to 1/8 inch wide. Adults emerge from the bark of infested trees leaving a small D-shaped exit hole roughly 1/8 inch in diameter. The adult beetles nibble on ash foliage but cause little damage. The larvae (the immature stage) feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients.

In anticipation of the EAB's arrival from New York, over 500 purple detection traps, containing a chemical lure, were set up across the state. Traps, however, were not the means by which the EAB’s presence in Connecticut was first detected.

The EAB is a favorite prey of Cerceris fumipennis, a ground-nesting, non-stinging native wasp, which hunts beetles in the family Buprestidae, including the EAB. Scientists from the Connnecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) in New Haven have been using Cerceris as a bio-surveillance tool. They recruited an army of citizen scientists as “wasp watchers,” monitoring dusty playing fields adjacent to woodlands for hours on end during the peak of Cerceris hunting time — late morning to early afternoon on hot, sunny July days!  Their assignment? To intercept the Cerceris prey before she (always a female) can get her catch into her underground burrow. If the EAB is in the area, it is evident in the Cerceris catch.

It was a wasp watcher who made the initial discovery at Canfield Park in Prospect, in northern New Haven County. She  caught the Cerceris wasp carrying the female EAB that was sent to APHIS for confirmation. Since Monday, watchers have captured 25 more EABs at Canfield and three more at nearby Fusco Field. Additionally, nine more EAB were discovered in a catch sample submitted by another Canfield Park watcher. This triggered a check of purple traps in the area. While the one near Canfield was empty, another trap in Prospect yielded three, and three more were found in a trap in Naugatuck. Summer surveillance in  Fairfield, Litchfield, and Middlesex counties has not yielded any EAB; the newly confirmed infestation seems to be confined to the Prospect area.

The discovery in Prospect is, however, one of grave concern. DEEP Commissioner Dan Esty stated in a press release, “This is a disturbing discovery and one that has the potential for great environmental harm in the state. Connecticut has more than 22 million ash trees. The presence of EAB here could have a devastating effect on the beauty of our forests, state and local parks and neighborhoods, as well as the state’s wood product industries.” Ash makes up 4% to 15% of Connecticut’s forest and is a common urban tree.

How did EAB get to Prospect? Prospect is a good distance from Dutchess County, New York along the Hudson, where EAB was detected earlier this year. 

Have you noticed the Do Not Move Firewood billboards along the highway? The EAB has great flight potential. Movement of firewood containing EAB to a new location gives the beetle the opportunity for rapid expansion of its territory —  the quickest way to spread the infestation. DON’T DO IT! 

Scientists fear the Naugatuck State Forest in the immediate area is also a likely site for the presence of EAB. Right now the focus is on trying to establish the borders of the current infestation. More purple traps are being deployed. DEEP is establishing a quarantine zone that would  prohibit the movement of certain wood products out of New Haven County, suspend all timber contracts and firewood permits for state forest lands in New Haven County, and maintain a ban that has been in place against bringing any firewood into state parks and forests. 

Thanks to Cerceris and the wasp watchers, we know EAB is here. Have we learned about the presence of EAB in time to save our trees? That is the question.

What can you do? Be alert. In CT, notify CAES (203-974-8474) or email CAES.StateEntomologist@ct.gov if you see the D-shaped hole on an ash tree. For anywhere else, call 1-866-322-4512 or go to www.emeraldashborer.info. And don’t move firewood!

NOTE: I am following this story closely. I was trained as a wasp watcher. I have a 27- year-old white ash in front of my home; I saw it get planted and I have watched it grow up. Check back for more details. I’ll post updates whenever I receive more information.