Jun 19, 2008 6:16 pm US/Central
Destructive Emerald Ash Borer Found On South Side
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The Asian longhorned beetle has long been a problem, and now an even more destructive bug's in town.
The emerald ash borer is digging its way into trees on Chicago's South Side. CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports crews took down trees near 29th and State streets limb by limb.
"This is a very insidious insect that has killed 20 to 25 million ash trees," said community trees advocate Edith Makra of the Morton Arboretum.
That's outside of Chicago. Now for the first time in the city limits, the emerald ash borer is rearing its ugly head.
The beetle from Asia can mean big trouble for the urban forest, one-fifth of it ash trees.
"This is a very difficult insect to find," Makra said. "[It] can be present and already killing trees by the time we find it."
The city used traps to confirm the bugs' presence.
If you're wondering how they knew there was a problem, you can credit traps like this.
"We had been monitoring these traps over the past year and that's how we picked up this area," said Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Michael Picardi. "We did find one in a trap and confirmed it, and then we did a bark peel back."
Sure enough, experts saw the hallmark holes of the ash borer – pinholes and zigzag burrow patterns under the bark, where larvae feed and do damage.
When the beetles emerge as adults they can fly to other places and spread.
"Our immediate priority is to control the spread of the infestation and save as many trees as possible," Picardi said.
So over the next 12 weeks, forestry teams will be surveying public space ash trees.
They'll look for signs of decline like thinning upper branches, check for infestation and, if need be, remove the tree, all to protect the rest of the population.
The city is getting the message out about the emerald ash borer, because it wants homeowners to check their own ash trees. Officials say anyone with questions should contact an expert who should also handle the removal and proper recycling of an infested tree.
Click here for more information from the Department of Streets and Sanitation.
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