Emerald ash borers (Agrilus planipennis)—EAB for short—are green jewel beetles that are native to northeastern Asia. They are considered a highly invasive pest species outside of their native range because of the destruction they cause to ash trees.

EABs were first detected in the United States in Michigan in 2002. The introduction was likely due to an accidental import of infested wood products. Since their introduction, EABs have killed tens of millions of ash trees in Michigan alone.

In June 2022, the Oregon Department of Agriculture positively confirmed a sighting of Emerald ash borers in Forest Grove, Oregon. This indicates that the highly invasive pest is spreading throughout the United States.

EABs are very detrimental to ash trees because they burrow inside and eat the tree from the inside out, disrupting its ability to transport water and nutrients. Common indicators that an ash tree has an active EAB infestation include:

• “D” shaped exit holes in the bark
• Significant bark splitting
• Foliar dieback (the tree looks sickly/doesn’t grow as many leaves as time goes on)

EAB presence in Oregon is particularly distressing because Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia) is the dominant species of the state’s wetland forests. There is not another native species capable of maintaining wetland forest canopy the way Oregon ash trees do. Additionally, all other species that depend on or interact with Oregon ash trees would also be impacted if mass die-offs occur due to EAB predation.

Various state departments and environmental nonprofits are putting together resources and monitoring plans to detect and combat Emerald ash borer destruction.

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RESOURCES

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State of Oregon: Survey and Treatment Projects – Emerald Ash Borer. (n.d.). Www.oregon.gov. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/IPPM/SurveyTreatment/Pages/EmeraldAshBorer.aspx#:~:text=On%20June%2030%2C%202022%2C%20emerald

EAB Network – About the Emerald Ash Borer (n.d.). www.emeraldashborer.info. http://www.emeraldashborer.info/about-eab

Michigan Invasive Species. Emerald Ash Borer. (n.d.). www.michigan.gov. https://www.michigan.gov/invasives/id-report/insects/emerald-ash-borer

Richards, K. (2022, July 11). Protect your trees: Emerald Ash borers have arrived in Oregon. OPB. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://www.opb.org/article/2022/07/11/protect-your-trees-emerald-ash-borers-have-arrived-in-oregon/

Oregon State University. (n.d.). Oregon Ash (fraxinus latifolia). Oregon Wood Innovation Center. Retrieved January 29, 2023, from https://owic.oregonstate.edu/oregon-ash-fraxinus-latifolia

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