General EAB Brochure - Illinois Department of Agriculture

Emerald Ash BorerThe emerald ash borer, (Agrilus planipennisfairmaire) is a small (1/2 inch long, 1/8 inch wide)metallic green beetle native to Asia. While it wasfirst found in Michigan in 2002, it is likely that thebeetle population had been established quite a fewyears before discovery. Discovered in Kane CountyIllinois in 2006, the beetles’ presence has sincebeen found in Bureau, Cook DeKalb, DuPage,Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry, McLean and Willcounties. EAB’s natural spread is moderate, but itsartificial spread can be rapid by people unwittinglytransporting this pest through infested firewood andlandscape waste. Artificial movement of infestedtrees has exacerbated the EAB problem in Illinoisand North America. To protect our ash trees, it isour responsibility to minimize the spread of EABby not transporting firewood outside of its localarea. Fireplace owners should buy firewood from aknown local source and burn all of it before May 1.Campers should buy firewood at your destinationand/or burn all wood before leaving the campsite.Ash TreesAsh trees are very common in landscapes and mostspecies, mainly white ash (Fraxinus Americana) andgreen ash (F. pennsylvanica) are native to Illinoisforests. It is estimated that as much as 20 percentof street trees in the greater Chicagoland area areash.Ash leaves & twigDiebackSuckers on trunkor base of treeSigns andSymptomsThe most visible sign ofinfestation is crown dieback.Branches at the top of thecrown will die and morebranches will die in subsequentyears. As the tree declines,‘suckers’, or new youngbranches, will sprout from thebase of the tree and on thetrunk. The bark may also splitvertically and woodpeckers mayfeed on the beetle leavingvisible damage on the bark.Successful treatments withinsecticides are limited butcontinue to be studied. All ashtrees near any new infestationwill most likely become infestedand die.Life CycleThe adult emerald ash boreremerges May - July and thefemale lays numerous eggs inbark crevices and betweenlayers of bark.The eggs hatch in 7-10 days intolarvae which bore into the treewhere they chew the innerbark and phloem creatingwinding galleries as they feed.This cuts off the flow of waterand nutrients in the tree,thereby causingdieback and death.Actual sizeLarvaS-shapedgalleriesCharacteristicsof ash:Seeds- Compound leaves made up of sevensmall, glossy green leaflets (5-9 leaflets).- Leaves, twigs and branches growsymetrically in opposite pairs.- Bark of mature trees is gray andfurrowed, often appearing in a diamondpattern.- Some ash trees will produce smallcanoe paddle-shaped seeds.- Seedless ash trees are common.- Some ash produce conspicuous hard,brown “flower galls” on their twigs.Bark slitsEmergence holeShown actual size of1/8” and D-shapedAdult beetles emerging fromtrees will leave a unique “D”shaped exit hole. This is asmall 1/8 inch diameter distinctly“D” shaped hole that mayappear anywhere on the trunkor upper branches.Other Stressors:Ash trees may suffer froma number of insect diseaseor other problems that cancause similar symptoms.Native borers also attackash trees and leave differentexit holes. The round or ovalholes of native insect borersare not “D” shaped and areusually smaller or largerthan those of the EAB.

You Can Help...•••DO NOTMOVEFIREWOODEmerald Ash Borer can easily be transported inash logs.Purchase firewood locally (within county) from aknown source.Be sure to use all the firewood in the cold monthsso that no hidden EAB larvae or adults can surviveon logs left through the spring.• There are both state and federal quarantines inplace that restrict themovement of ash logs,branches or othermaterial in certainareas. The entire stateof Illinois is undera federal quarantine,which restricts themovement of regulatedarticles across the stateline. Additionally, aninternal state quarantineis in effect for all or partsof 25 counties in northeasternIllinois. If you giveor sell any ash stock or other hardwood originatingfrom within the internal state quarantinedarea, inform the person receiving the wood ofthat fact and the restrictions on wood movement.• Check www.IllinoisEAB.com for more detailedinformation.•Monitor the health of ash trees. Look for deadand dying branches at the top of the tree’scrown and other EAB signs and symptoms.If You Think You HaveEmerald Ash Borer:If you suspect your tree has EAB, please takesome digital photos of the tree and close-ups ofthe symptoms it is expressing and email thosewith contact info to: agr.eab@illinois.gov.For assistance in identifying suspectinsects and symptoms:o Contact your city or village forester,arborist or public works official for assistanceo In the City of Chicago, contact312-74BEETL (312-742-3385)o Contact the Illinois Departmentof Agriculture at 800/641-3934 orvisit www.IllinoisEAB.como Contact your local University of IllinoisExtension office by visitinghttp://web.extension.uiuc.edu/state/index.htmlor by calling 217-333-5900o Visit www.emeraldashborer.info orhttp://na.fs.fed.us/fhp/eab/o Contact The Morton Arboretum PlantClinic at 630-719-2424 orwww.mortonarb.org/o Contact a certified arborist. To findone in your area, visithttp://www.illinoisarborist.orgo Call the national EAB hotlineat 866-EAB-4512.Printed by the authority of the State ofIllinois (PA#69-12/11)Emerald Ash Borerwww.IllinoisEAB.comDivision of Natural ResourcesBureau of Environmental ProgramsPO Box 19281 ~ Spfld., IL 62794-9281217/785-2427 voice/TDD