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This beetle is the destructive tree pest called the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). In July, 2010, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture announced that the ash borer had been discovered in a west Knox County location.
According to a news release by the TN.gov Newsroom, although the ash borer affects only ash trees there are millions of urban ash trees in Tennessee that could potentially be at risk of attack by this pest. "Typically, the Emerald Ash Borer beetles can kill an ash tree within three years of the initial infestation. Adults are dark green, one-half inch in length and one-eighth inch wide, and fly only from April until September, depending on the climate of the area. In Tennessee, most EAB adults would fly in May and June. Larvae spend the rest of the year beneath the bark of ash trees. When they emerge as adults, they leave D-shaped holes in the bark about one-eighth inch wide.", the release reports.
The Emerald Ash Borer was apparently introduced into the Detroit, Michigan, area 15 to 20 years ago and has been spreading through the midwest and east since that time. The discovery at a truck stop in Knox County near the Loudon County line appears to be the first siting in Tennessee.
Officials with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture are urging residents and visitors to help curb the spread of this disease by not transporting firewood - even within Tennessee, by not buying or moving firewood from outside the state, and to watch for signs of infestation in ash trees.
Read more about the impact of this beetle at the TN.gov Newsroom web site or the multi-national information site www.emeraldashborer.info.
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