Destructive beetle found in Bollinger County; wood quarantined

The state's quarantine regulating the movement of ash wood products has been expanded after an invasive insect was found in two more Missouri counties, according to a new release from the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

Damage caused to a tree by an Emerald Ash Borer pictured inside a tree. (Photo Courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation)

The quarantine, an effort to reduce the spread of the emerald ash borer, a half-inch long emerald green-colored beetle, now includes two additional counties -- Bollinger and Pulaski.

The quarantine expansion comes as a result of borers identified by the Missouri agriculture department and confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during routine survey efforts this month, the state department said. The insect already has been found at Wappapello Lake in Wayne County and in Reynolds, Madison and Platte counties. Quarantines also are in place for those counties.

The emerald ash borer is native to China and eastern Asia. The beetle first was detected in the U.S. in 2002 and in Missouri in July 2008 in Wayne County. Once the ash borer takes hold in an ash tree, the tree is doomed.

Damage caused to a tree by an Emerald Ash Borer pictured inside a tree. (Photo Courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation)

The quarantine limits the movement of certain wood products from these counties. Affected products include any part of an ash tree, from logs and green lumber, to compost, bark and chips, as well as ash nursery stock and all hardwood firewood. Much of the pests' spread is attributed to humans transporting it under the bark of firewood, logs and tree debris. Missouri's quarantines prohibit both interstate and intrastate movement of the products.

Candice Davis, a spokeswoman with the Southeast region of the Missouri Department of Conservation, said landowners should keep an eye on their ash trees.

"Watch for that D-shaped exit hole that emerald ash borers leave in bark when they emerge," Davis said in an email. Heavy woodpecker damage also could indicate an infestation, since they feed on the insect's larvae.

An illustration of an Emerald Ash Borer. (Photo Courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation)

Those with affected ash trees should call a department forester, Davis said.

The USDA has quarantined four entire states -- West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois -- along with the lower peninsula of Michigan and infected areas of Missouri and nine other states where the ash borer has been confirmed.

The ash borer is such a threat that the National Park Service plans to cut down more than 900 large ash trees on the grounds of the Gateway Arch and replace them with another breed of trees. Park Service officials say it's only a matter of time before the ash borer makes it north to St. Louis and kills the ash trees. All are expected to be removed by 2015, the year marking the 50th anniversary of the Arch.

Damage caused to a tree by an Emerald Ash Borer pictured inside a tree. (Photo Courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation)

Detailed information on movement of ash products under a compliance agreement is available online at eab.missouri.edu

~ Southeast Missourian managing editor Matt Sanders and the Associated Press contributed to this report.