Good Lifestyle

With summer right around the corner, we're eagerly awaiting the chance to spend more time outside after being cooped up all winter. Temperatures are rising, flowers are in bloom, and foliage is lush and vibrant. But if you enjoy sitting beneath a shady tree in your yard, you'll want to keep an eye out for signs that it's infested with an invasive and destructive bug. Read on to find out what insect you should report to local officials immediately.

Basahin ito sa susunod:If You Have This Tree in Your Yard, Cut It Down Now, Officials Warn.

In addition to tree-munching pests like termites and aphids, there are several invasive species that pose a threat to native wildlife in the U.S. These species disrupt our ecosystems, as plants and trees generally do not have the necessary defense mechanisms to protect themselves from foreign threats.

Garlic mustard is one such invasive species, sprouting earlier than other plants around it and literally weeding out surrounding wildlife by commandeering resources. American hardwood trees are also prey for the invasive Asian Longhorned Beetle, defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the greatest threat to this particular group of trees. But there is another bug that preys on a different tree variety—native ash trees.

Basahin ito sa susunod:If You See a Tree That Looks Like This, Call Officials Immediately.

If you have ash trees in your yard, they could be the perfect target for the emerald ash borer (sometimes referred to as EAB), officials warn. This beetle is a "destructive wood-boring" invasive species, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), responsible for killing millions of ash trees in North America since it was first detected in Michigan in 2002. To date, the insect has been detected in 35 states and Washington, D.C.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

The emerald ash borer originated in Asia, having been accidentally transported to the U.S. on trade routes, Charles van Rees, PhD, conservation scientist, naturalist, and founder of the Gulo in Nature blog, said. And while ash tree varieties in Asia have evolved to protect themselves from the harmful effects of the beetle, trees in North America cannot say the same.

"Unfortunately, our native ash species have none of these protections, which leads them vulnerable to being wiped out," van Rees said. "This is leading to millions of dollars of damages to private property, forestry resources, and more."

You can recognize the adult emerald ash borer thanks to its coloring, which van Rees described as "a beautiful sparkly emerald green." The beetle's cylindrical body is about one-third of an inch long (smaller than a penny), accompanied by short antennae. It is sometimes mistaken for the six-spotted green tiger beetle, which is native to the U.S.—the key difference is the emerald ash borer's reddish abdomen, van Rees explained.

This bright green bug may sound easy to spot, but unfortunately, fully-grown emerald ash borers are not the main source of the problem. According to van Rees, the larvae pose the real threat by carving tunnels in the bark of ash trees to feed on vascular tissues.

"This interferes with the necessary movement of water and sap up and down the tree's trunk," van Rees said. "You can think of this like internal bleeding, or a loss of blood pressure. Unable to run its body properly by moving water and sugars where they need to go, the ash tree succumbs quickly, especially when a large number of larvae have attached to it."

The larvae often form S-shaped galleries when feeding on the inner layers, according to the USDA. When they reach maturity, the adult beetles emerge from trees through D-shaped exit holes throughout May and early June.

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According to the USDA, you may not immediately recognize an infestation, as symptoms can take three years to appear.

When signs of an infestation do show up, your tree might look sickly and have wilted or yellow foliage, van Rees said. In addition to the D-shaped exit holes, you may see dying branches on the top of your ash tree, excessive shoots growing from the trunk, and vertical splits in the bark, the USDA warned.

"Kung ang isang puno ay may pag -loosening o pagbagsak ng bark, na humahantong sa mga hubad na lugar, iyon din ay isang kapaki -pakinabang na tagapagpahiwatig," dagdag ni Van Rees. "Ang hindi pangkaraniwang halaga ng aktibidad ng woodpecker ay maaari ring magpahiwatig na ang mga gutom na ibon na ito ay natagpuan ang mga larvae sa loob."

Ang USDA ay nabuo ang programa ng Aphis EAB, na gumagamit ng mga likas na kaaway ng beetle, maliliit na walang tigil na mga wasps, bilang isang paraan upang makontrol ang EAB. Upang maiwasan at namamahala ng mga infestation para sa iyong mga indibidwal na puno ng abo, ang Wisconsin Hortikultura Division ng Extension ay nagmumungkahi ng paggamitPaggamot sa insekto Ngunit ipinapayo na isaalang -alang mo ang halaga ng iyong puno ng abo bago gumawa ng anumang pormal na pagpapasya.

Kung nakakita ka ng mga palatandaan ng Emerald Ash Borer o ang pisikal na beetle sa iyong mga puno, hiniling ng USDA na iulat mo ito sa mga lokal na opisyal upang makatulong na mapigilan ang pagkalat.

Inirerekomenda ni Van Rees na maabot ang iyong lokal na ahensya ng extension ng agrikultura sa kolehiyo, pati na rin ang pakikipag -ugnay sa APHIS gamit ang isangonline form o sa pamamagitan ng telepono sa 1-866-322-4512. Maaari mo ring gamitinMga app tulad ng Eddmaps upang mag -ulat sa go.

Basahin ito sa susunod:Kung nakikita mo ang bulaklak na ito sa iyong bakuran, tumawag kaagad ng mga lokal na opisyal.