Asian beetle could wipe out Britain's ash trees...and is heading our way

Sarah Knapton, Science Editor

18 May 2017 • 12:01am 

Britain’s ash trees could be wiped out by an Asian beetle just as they begin to recover from the devastating ash dieback fungus, scientists have warned.

In the latest State of the World’s Plants report, exerts at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew said that the emerald ash borer beetle was on the march to Europe and could be even more deadly than ash dieback.

Chalara ash dieback, which is expected to kill 50 per cent of the country’s 120 million ash trees, was first identified in the UK in 2012 but hope emerged last year when scientists discovered a tree in Ashwellthorpe Wood, in Norfolk, which was resistant to the disease.

But now experts fear the emerald ash borer could soon arrive in Britain and wreak devastation in a similar way to US cities, where tens of millions of ash trees across 25 states have withered and died at a cost to the economy of $10 billion. It has already been found west of Moscow.

Dr Richard Buggs, head of plant health at Kew, said the beetle could be the ‘final nail in the coffin’ for Britain’s ash trees.

“There is a real chance that the emerald ash borer could come to the UK. It’s currently devastating ash populations in America and it’s currently found around Moscow in Russia and research shows it is spreading towards Europe, so over the next few years we could see it enter Europe and spread through and find ash trees already weakened by ash dieback.

 “And it’s actually far more damaging that ash dieback.

“It is has killed huge numbers of trees in America and they have a lot of avenues of ash trees in towns and some of them have been completely wiped out.”

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Tiny Asian beetle wreaking havoc on North America's ash trees

August 9, 2016 by Nova Safo

The Emerald Ash Borer targets the ash tree, a common variety in Midwestern US cities, where the tree can survive cramped sidewalks, harsh winters and road salts

Over the next two years, grounds crews in St. Louis will cut down nearly one out of every five trees, altering the US city's leafy landscape for at least a generation.

The Midwestern metropolis made the tough decision with the knowledge that if it does not cut down the trees, most will quickly die.

St. Louis is the latest victim of the Emerald Ash Borer, an Asian beetle smaller than a penny, which emigrated from China via shipping materials and is destroying millions of trees in North America.

The insect targets the Ash tree—a common variety in Midwestern cities, where the tree can survive cramped sidewalks, harsh winters and road salts used to keep streets clear of ice and snow.

In St. Louis, city forestry commissioner Skip Kincaid is tasked with dealing with the invasive pest and the destruction it is expected to cause in the next few years.

"I'm trying as best I can to enlighten the public about how devastating it is going to be," Kincaid said.

To head off the Emerald Ash Borer's advance, Kincaid will cut down almost all of the city's 14,000 Ash trees—or roughly 17 percent of all trees—over the next two years.

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'Femme fatale' emerald ash borer decoy lures and kills males

An international team of researchers has designed decoys that mimic female emerald ash borer beetles and successfully entice male emerald ash borers to land on them in an attempt to mate, only to be electrocuted and killed by high-voltage current.

"Our new decoy and electrocution process may be useful in managing what the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service claims to be the most destructive forest pest ever seen in North America," said Michael Domingue, postdoctoral fellow in entomology, Penn State.

According to the Forest Service, the emerald ash borer was introduced to the United States from China in 2002. Since then, it has spread throughout 24 states and two Canadian provinces, and killed tens of millions of otherwise healthy native ash trees.

"Early detection of the pest in traps such as ours can help in coordinating management strategies to slow its spread and minimize its impact," said Domingue.

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