Populations of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), a devastating invasive insect pest of North American ash trees ( Fraxinusspp.) first identified in Detroit in 2002, have been found in parts of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and Wisconsin as well as portions of Ontario and Quebec, Canada.

Emerald Ash Borer, which is native to parts of Asia, kills 100% of the ash trees it attacks – a sobering fact that threatens the future of the ash resource on our continent. Although total eradication of EAB is not possible, slowing its rate of spread to new are as through quarantines is critical in reducing financial and ecological impacts.

Since EAB is mainly spread by human activity and because quarantines and regulations are the main control methods, the first step in managing EAB is identifying new infestations. Beginning in 2002, the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) along with cooperators from affected states conducted visual ground surveys of ash trees in high risk areas. Visual surveys were supplemented in 2005 with destructive sampling of stressed detection trees, small girdled ash trees proven to attract adult beetles. Although more efficient than visual inspections alone, detection trees proved expensive and time-consuming. Detection trees were replaced in 2008 with purple panel traps developed by USDA APHIS.

These traps, baited with attractant oil, are more economical to use. Surveys for EAB are divided into two categories. The National 2008 EAB Survey was used to determine whether additional pockets of infestation existed undetected outside known infested areas. The survey targeted high risk sites and places in non-infested states where potentially infested material such as nursery stock, ash logs, and firewood could have been moved a long distance from the generally infested area either before or after current regulations where put in place.

All lower 48 states placed the purple panel traps at high risk sites which resulted in the detection of new infestations in three states – Missouri, Wisconsin and Virginia. In addition to the national survey, USDA APHIS partnered with infested state cooperators to conduct the “100- Mile Band Survey” (made up of two 50- mile adjacent bands) in an effort to better define the leading edge of the infestation. The boundaries for the 100-Mile Band were set by using the last known EAB positive finds.

Participants included areas in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. A 1.5 x 1.5 mile grid was laid across the 100-Mile Band and purple panel traps were set at gird points that had ash trees within a 0.5 mile radius.

The survey also included a strong public outreach and education component to address the anticipated questions about the purple “kite” hanging in my tree. In Indiana, USDA APHIS and DNR Divisions of Forestry and Entomology & Plant Pathology employees visited a total of 7,213 sites and placed 5,479 traps in the 100-Mile Band zone, resulting in three new detections of which only one was found on a trap. The remaining two were found from a visual survey and a girdled tree. DNR employees also set 1,038 traps in uninfested counties and uninfested townships of infested counties north of the 100-Mile Band. They also set 301 girdled trap trees in high risk areas throughout the state. This effort resulted in four new detections of which two were by traps, one by girdled tree and one by visual survey. Of these seven detections, four are new county records – Floyd, Monroe, Brown and Kosciusko. Three are new township records in Porter County (2) and White County (1). See the map for all quarantined townships and counties and the location of the 100-Mile Band.

Slowing the spread of EAB is the only way to lessen its economic and environmental impact in the U. S. Because survey and detection of existing EAB populations is critical to this outcome, USDA APHIS and state cooperators will continue the National  and Band surveys for as long as possible, perhaps buying time for scientific advancements and increased public knowledge to take effect.

For additional information on EAB and the quarantine, visit the following Web sites: http://www.in.gov/dnr/entomolo/index.htm and http://www.entm.purdue.edu/EAB/.