The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is a small green beetle native to Asia. Most researchers agree that the beetle probably made its way to the United States inside of wooden pallets infested with them. They were first discovered in the U.S. in Michigan in 2002, and have infested and killed approximately 200 million of America’s 8 billion ash trees since. This number is expected to rise in the future.
Although the infested trees can be “treated,” the treatments are only effective on healthy or slightly stressed trees. Trees that are already heavily infested rarely recover. The only known effects of the borers are the death of trees and a loss in population of insects and animals that rely on them, as well as an increase in bird populations. We are two high school students doing this project for our environmental science class but the main purpose of this website is to inform and enable the public to help fight the emerald ash borer infestation. Most of our research is related to Naperville, IL, because we live there, but the EAB is a large threat to ash trees everywhere in the United States and Canada. |
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This website was developed by Daniel Josefchak and Ryan Malone.