The US Forest Service has released predatory wasps to combat the invasive EMERALD ASH BORER........The potential damage of this insect rivals that of Chestnut blight and Dutch Elm Disease........ Since its accidental introduction into the United States and Canada in the 1990s, and its subsequent detection in 2002, The Emerald Ash Borer has spread to 14 states and adjacent parts of Canada.............. It has killed at least 50 - 100 million ash trees so far and threatens to kill most of the 7.5 billion ash trees throughout North America..............The Wasps will not save mature trees from their demise but it is hoped that they will have a mitigating impact on the Borers, allowing our majestic Ash species to "adapt and overcome" the invasion

Forest Service Combats Emerald Ash Borer With Wasps

The U.S. Forest Service has released stingless wasps along the eastern edge of Michigan's Huron-Manistee National Forests, on the state's lower peninsula, to help counteract the invasive emerald ash borer. The release marked the first time biological measures were taken to fight the beetle inside a national forest. In July, the Forest Service received approval to release two species of parasitoid wasps, Oobius agrili and Tetrastichus planipennisi, in the national forest and on nearby private lands in Michigan's Alcona County. Environmental analyses showed that the wasps do not harm people, non-target species, or the environment. "The emerald ash borer has caused so much damage to forests and so much loss to communities in Michigan's Lower Peninsula," said Michael T. Rains, director of the U.S. Forest Service's Northern Research Station. "Expanding the use of biological control to national forests and research on its effectiveness will contribute to more resilient forests in the future." The tiny beetle first made its way to the U.S. from Asia in the early '90s, "presumably from solid wood packing materials or dunnage used to transport manufactured goods," according to the U.S. Forest Service. It has since spread to at least 13 states. The Forest Service doubts the wasps can save larger ash trees, but they could reduce the beetle population enough to "curb their effect in the future." The two wasps have different ways of preying on the beetles. Oobius finds a beetle egg and injects its own egg inside, where it will hatch, grow, and kill the host egg. Tetrastichus females lay eggs inside beetle larvae, where the wasp larvae feed and grow, eventually killing their host.   The adult beetle is dark metallic green, bullet-shaped and about 8.5 millimetres (0.33 in) long and 1.6 mm (1⁄16 in) wide. The body is narrow and elongated, and the head is flat with black eyes. The larvae are approximately 1 mm (1⁄25 in) diameter, 26 to 32 millimetres (1.0 to 1.3 in) long, and are a creamy white color. The eggs turn to a yellow brown color prior to hatching.[4] Adults lay eggs in crevasses in the bark. Larvae burrow into the bark after hatching and consume the cambium and phloem, effectively girdling the tree and causing death within two years. The average emerging season for the emerald ash borer is early spring to late summer. Females lay around 75 eggs, but up to 300 from early May to mid-July. The borer's life cycle is estimated to be one year in southern Michigan but may be up to two years in colder regions. Life Cycle The adult emerald ash borer emerges in May–July and the female lays numerous eggs in bark crevaces and between layers of bark. The eggs hatch in 7–10 days and larvae bore into the tree where they chew the inner bark and phloem creating winding galleries as they feed. This cuts off the flow of the water and nutrients in the tree, causing dieback and death.