Emerald ash borer was identified in 2002 as a new exotic insect attacking ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees in southeastern Michigan. Ash species represent over 692 million trees in Michigan alone and are distributed throughout the eastern United States. The Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA), along with other state and federal agencies, has developed an emergency response plan to limit the spread of EAB and devastation to ash in rural and urban environments.
With assistance from Asian entomologists, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service identified the buprestid beetle as Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire. The insect became the subject of a state interior quarantine on ash trees and timber products after the MDA conducted a detection survey that located the pest in 6 Michigan counties. Infested ash exhibited thinning and dieback at the crown, followed by bark cracking and epicormic shoots arising from the trunk. Characteristic signs of emerald ash borer infestation were quickly identified; these included “d”-shaped emergence holes and serpentine galleries just beneath the bark.
The response plan involves the creation of management zones where specific surveying, eradication, and research will be conducted. Components of the plan, including outreach programs, outlier management, and disposal activities, have already begun and will be expanded upon during 2003.
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