The emerald ash borer (EAB) is a recently introduced insect from China that is destroying ash trees in Michigan. Through the movement of infested firewood and nursery stock the beetle For more information on has began to expand into other states and into Canada. the emerald ash borer, visit: South Dakota is heavily dependent on ash trees for urban and shelterbelt trees. www.emeraldashborer.info The tree is also a common riparian tree or contact the across the state. Division of Resource Conservation & Forestry South Dakota Department of Agriculture If the insect is accidentally introduced in 523 E Capitol Ave South Dakota the economic impact will Pierre, SD 57501-3182 605-773-3623 be enormous. It is critical that firewood brought in from outside the state be or contact the SDSU Cooperative Extension Service at Keeping the promptly burned to avoid the 605-688-4737 introduction of this pest into the state. Emerald In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from descriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex age or disability. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs. To file a complaint of discrimination: write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) Ash Borer 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. This publication made possible through a grant from the USDA Forest Service. out of South Dakota Adult emerald ash borer Emerald Ash Borer: a potential The larvae are legless, white, segmented and will reach a length threat to South Dakota trees of 1-inch long by fall. The larvae Emerald ash borer create S-shaped galleries or tunnels (Agrilus planipennis) is a just beneath the bark and these serious threat to all ash galleries are packed with a saw-dust trees in North America. like material. The S-shaped This small boring beetle galleries cut off the movement of The distinctive D-shaped exit holes made Adult emerald ash borer was accidentally food from the leaves to the roots by emerging adult EAB introduced into Michigan several years ago in ash and this interruption results in the crates from China. Since that time the beetle has Tunnels created by tree’s decline and eventual death. borer emerges from the tree or log and flies to EAB larvae feeding been responsible for the loss of more than 8 million another tree to lay eggs. These 1/8-inch D-shaped on tree tissue The larvae form a whitish pupa just trees in that state alone and the infestation has now holes are not usually present on the lower trunk until beneath bark in the spring and the spread to the other nearby states of Ohio and the tree is near death or has already died. A tree can new formed adult emerges in a few weeks. Indiana as well as the Canadian province of Ontario. be infested for several years before the holes occur The insect , a close relative to the bronze birch How to identify infested trees low enough on the trunk to be detected. The first indication that a tree is borer, is an aggressive killer of all ash species, What to do if you find an infested including green ash, white ash, black ash, blue ash infested is yellowing and tree and Manchurian ash and their many cultivars and thinning of the foliage. Later, hybrids. No ash can be considered safe from often within the same season, Any suspected infested trees should be brought to the infestation. the upper branches will begin to attention of your local forester. They may need to dieback. This progressive inspect the tree to determine if it is infested with the The beetle can fly up to several miles to find a dieback continues until the tree beetles. In many instances the tree may be dying suitable host but its rapid spread across Michigan dies, a process that may take one from other problems or insects . and into other states has been through the to several years. Sometimes the movement of infested firewood and nursery stock. tree forms epicormic sprouts - How to prevent the beetle from The life cycle of the long, thin, fast-growing shoots- entering the state along the trunk during the Emerald Ash Borer EAB Infected tree with Ash firewood brought into South Dakota from advanced stages of decline. dieback at the top The adults are slender, green metallic beetles about Michigan, Ohio or Indiana may contain the larvae of 1/2 inch long. They began emerging from infested Another indictor of an infestation is the presence of the emerald ash borer. Since the adults emerge from trees and wood in early woodpecker activity on the declining tree. These birds are infested wood during the summer months, any logs summer. The adults fly to searching for the borer larvae that are inside the tree. or firewood, containing the larvae can become the a nearby ash and deposit Woodpeckers will search for any insect beneath the bark so source for a new infestation. Campers bring eggs on the bark. The this is not a definite indicator of the insect. firewood from outside the state may be inadvertently larvae hatch in about a The best indicator that the tree is infested with emerald ash carrying this destructive insect, or other recently week or two, burrow into EAB larvae feeding on borer is the presence of small D-shaped holes on the bark of introduced pests such as the banded elm bark beetle. the inner bark of the tree, tree tissue the tree. These holes are created as the adult emerald ash It is important that all firewood brought in from and begin to feed. outside the state be promptly destroyed or burned.