Emerald Ash Borer: The Basics

Jodie Ellis Department of Entomology Purdue University

Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Bupestridae)

½ inch

In North America, EAB is a Primary Pest of North American ash trees, attacking and killing healthy ash trees within 1-3 years.

It is estimated that EAB has killed nearly 30 million ash trees in North America so far.

EAB’s Native Range

In Asia:1. EAB has co-evolved with Asian ash trees.

2. There are natural enemies and pathogens that keep EAB levels low.

In North America:1.EAB has NOT co-evolved with North American

ash trees.

2. North American natural enemies and pathogens don’t recognize EAB.

How Does EAB Harm

Trees?

•Newly hatched larvae bore through bark and feed on the tree’s vascular tissue.

•As they grow, larvae zigzag through tree tissue, leaving S-shaped tunnels that are flat and wide.

Frass

Heavy EAB infestations kill ash trees quickly – within 1 to 3 years.

Types of ash (Fraxinus spp.) attacked by EAB:

Green ash

White ash

Black ash

Blue ash

All native North American ash and all horticultural

cultivars of ash are vulnerable to EAB.

EAB Risk Map

• Natural spread of EAB is local (~ 1/2 mile per year).

• Artificial or human-assisted spread moves the beetle much farther and faster in a less predictable manner.

How EAB Spreads

Since EAB arrived here, it has been moved in:

• firewood

• raw wood with bark

• dunnage and crating for heavy goods

• nursery stock

• lumber and wood with bark attached

Signs and Symptoms of

EAB

The canopy continues to decline until the tree

eventually dies.

Thinning of Upper Third of Canopy

James W. Smith

Develop below dying portions of

the trunk. 

Epicormic Shoots

D-Shaped Exit Holes

S-Shaped Larval Feeding Galleries

Frass-filled, zigzagging tunnels.

Vertical Splits in Bark

Woodpecker activity is an ‘early warning sign’ of EAB.

Woodpecker Activity

Where Is EAB?

The red dots indicate sites where EAB has been detected.

How Do We Know Where EAB

Is?

The Old-Fashioned Way: Preparing an EAB detection tree

Purple Panel Traps

This year, USDA APHIS set out over 60,000 purple panel traps in 48 states.

Quarantines

State and Federal Level Quarantines

Quarantines at both State and Federal levels are designed to slow the movement of regulated ash material that might contain EAB to uninfested areas.

Regulated Items

– The living insect itself

– Entire ash trees

– Ash limbs, branches

– Cut firewood (ANY TYPE except pine)

– Logs or untreated ash lumber with bark

– Uncomposted ash chips greater than 1 inch in diameter

– Any article presenting risk of spread

State Level Quarantines

The Federal Level Quarantine

USDA APHIS PPQ prohibits the movement of ash material including all types of hardwood firewood out of any quarantined state or area.

Under the Federal quarantine, regulated ash material may not be freely moved between quarantined states, even when they are contiguous to each other.

Violations of EAB quarantines may result in severe penalties including heavy fines, and in severe cases, criminal charges.

For More Information

On EAB

For Regional Information on EAB, visit:

www.emeraldashborer.info

www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info

For Information on EAB from USDA APHIS, visit:

or call toll-free

1-866 322-4512

Questions?