Corsicana —
The odd purple boxes hanging from ash trees around Navarro County are bug traps, specifically meant to catch the Emerald Ash Borer. There are eight of the boxes in Navarro County, and six in Freestone County.
The insect came from East Asia and was first discovered in Michigan in 2002, but it quickly spread to the forests of 15 other states, according to the U.S.D.A.
“We’ve never trapped an emerald ash borer here,” said Steve Clarke, an entomologist with the U.S.D.A. Forestry Service’s Lufkin office. “The closest known infestation is Missouri.”
The reason for the traps here, despite not having the bugs, is to do a comprehensive survey to detect any potential ash borer problems before they get too far.
“The sooner we can detect them, the better we can respond,” Clarke explained.
If the beetle does get into a tree, the only current treatment is to cut down the ash tree and destroy it, and hopefully destroy all the larvae inside the wood.
AgriLife Extension agents checked the traps in June, and will make one more check in late summer before the boxes are taken down.
In the last 10 years the emerald ash borer has devastated thousands of acres of ash forests in the Midwest and Canada. It is estimated that the beetle has killed 15 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, according to a scientific paper by seven researchers for the Journal of Economic Entomology.
In a 2005 study, the scientists discovered the bugs like the color purple, and traps made of purple plastic caught the most of the ash borers. The boxes are prism-shaped or triangular and hang 15 or so feet off the ground by enormous wire hooks. The purple boxes are about 24 inches long and hang lengthwise in ash trees. To attract beetles to the traps, the boxes are baited manuka tree oil, which smells to the beetle like an ash tree in distress. The outside of the plastic boxes is coated with non-toxic glue.
A number of states have put strict quarantines on moving firewood from county to county and state to state to stop the spread of the insects. The larvae live in the wood.
Ash wood is used to make cabinets, furniture and baseball bats.
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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “sound off” to this article? E-mail: Soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com
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