The first emerald ash borer (EAB) in a tree coming from a nursery has been found in Kenosha County in southern Wisconsin. The ash tree, from a nursery in Lake County Illinois, was planted near Silver Lake, WI. Emerald ash borer infests and kills all North American ash trees (Fraxinus).
Interstate transport of nursery trees from states with known emerald ash borer infestations is a violation of the federal EAB quarantine.
The emerald ash borer has destroyed millions of ash trees in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, West Virginia, Virginia, Missouri and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Wisconsin has been trying to prevent the movement of firewood and nursery stock from Illinois. Given the large number of vacationers travelling from Illinois to Wisconsin, importation of the beetle in firewood seems only a matter of time.
Picture: Emerald ash borer adult, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, courtesy of David Cappaert, Michigan State University, bugwood.org
