Images and stories from past Wingbeats

Emerald Ash Borer

You may have noticed the purple traps that have been hung by the CT DEP in ash trees around our area. The traps monitor the presence (or lack of) the destructive Emerald Ash Borer. The emerald ash borer (EAB) is a non-native insect with the potential to have a devastating effect on the ash trees of Connecticut. This insect, a bark-boring beetle, is perilously close to our state, with a major outbreak outside of Kingston, NY, just 25 miles west of the state line. This insect can be easily moved in firewood and through other means. Because of that, the DEP is encouraging greater awareness of EAB, hoping to reduce the likelihood of its inadvertent spread. They also want to help prepare people for dealing with the insect, should it be found in Connecticut.

What is EAB?

EAB is a small (½ inch), bright-green beetle that does its damage as a larva, feeding on the inner bark of ash trees. Its numbers build rapidly in an infestation, and these numbers will kill mature trees within 3–5 years. Its life cycle is between 1–2 years long, with the adults most likely to be found in June or July. Since the adult is small and only lives outside of the tree for a few weeks, the most likely way that the beetle will be found will be through the damage it causes to trees.

Anyone who suspects that they have found the insect or an infested tree is strongly encouraged to contact the State Entomologist at CAES (CAES.StateEntomologist@ct.gov or 203-974-8474). Take and send digital pictures, but do not move the wood or the insect!

In advance of an infestation, perhaps the most helpful steps for members of the general public are those that reduce the movement of raw wood over long distances. In particular:

Firewood should be sawn, purchased and used locally, so as to limit the opportunity for EAB and other pests to hitch a ride within the firewood pile.

A good source of identification material is University of Michigan. The EAB is doing much damage in the state of Michigan. http://www.anr.msu.edu/robertsd/ash/index.html

Japanese Barberry Linked to Lyme Disease

In an article in the New London Day, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s Department of Forestry and Agriculture scientists, Jeffrey Ward and Scott Williams, noted that tick abundance in barberry-infested areas is 67 percent higher than in areas where native plants predominate. And, that the percentage of ticks that carry Lyme bacteria is also higher in barberry areas: 126 infected ticks per acre vs. 10 per acre. After barberry removal, tick populations drop as much as 80 percent.

Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) seed is spread primarily by animal droppings, and it can sprout roots on any branches that touch the soil.

It can be eradicated by burning or by herbicides. Burning is the preferred method where infestation is near water. Removal is a two-step process, beginning with mechanical cutting with a brush saw or, in some cases, tearing up dense clusters with a small bulldozer. That is followed by selective application of herbicides or by burning with a setup of tank, torch, backpack, and safety equipment.

About barberry in your own yard, Ward says, “There are so many barberry in most forests, and they produce so many seeds, that removing the couple of plants in your yard is more symbolic than effective, sort of like using your finger to plug a leak in a dike,” he said. “Time, energy and money would be better spent first controlling barberry infestations in the woods and along trails.”

Because infestations can be wide-spread in forested areas, Ward suggests, “Start along a trail, do a section 50 feet wide along the trail, then go back and widen it,” he advised. “You’ll get a sense of accomplishment, and it reduces the risk of Lyme disease for you and your pets.”

Scientists predict a heavy tick infestation this year anyway, because of the very wet spring. http://www.theday.com/article/20110620/NWS01/306209953/ 1017

Mile-A-Minute Weed

Mile-a-minute weed, or Asiatic tearthumb, is an herbaceous, annual, trailing vine. Stems are armed with recurved barbs which are also present on the underside of the leaf blades. The light green colored leaves are shaped like an equilateral (equal-sided) triangle and alternate along the narrow, delicate stems. Distinctive circular, cup-shaped leafy structures, called ocreae, surround the stem at nodes, thus the name 'perfoliata.'

ECOLOGICAL THREAT
Mile-a-minute weed grows rapidly, scrambling over shrubs and other vegetation, blocking the foliage of covered plants from available light, and reducing their ability to photosynthesize, which stresses and weakens them. In addition, the weight and pressure of the vine causes distortion of stems and branches of covered plants. If left unchecked, reduced photosynthesis can kill a plant. Large infestations of mile-a-minute weed eventually reduce native plant species in natural areas. Small populations of extremely rare plants may be eliminated entirely. Because it can smother tree seedlings, mile-a- minute weed has a negative effect on Christmas tree farms, forestry operations on pine plantations and reforestation of natural areas. It has the potential to be a problem to nursery and horticulture crops that are not regularly tilled as a cultivation practice.

Mile-a-minute has been found in parts of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Mile-a-minute weed generally colonizes open and disturbed areas, along the edges of woods, wetlands, stream banks, and roadsides, and uncultivated open fields, resulting from both natural and human causes. Natural areas such as stream banks, parks, open space, road shoulders, forest edges and fence lines are all typical areas to find mile-a-minute. It also occurs in environments that are extremely wet with poor soil structure.

For more information on the management of Mile-A-Minute Weed, please contact: Judith Hough-Goldstein, University of Delaware, jhough at udel.edu; Judy Okay, Chesapeake Bay Program, jokay at chesapeakebay.net; Jil Swearingen, National Park Service, jil_swearingen at nps.gov

Asian Longhorned Beetle UPDATE

Found in 2011 in Worster, Mass, this beetle is a serious pest in other parts of the world and can kill hardwood trees in roadside plantings, shelterbelts, and plantations. In the United States, the beetle prefers maple species.

ALB typically does not spread quickly on its own, but it can easily be inadvertently transported in untreated firewood and other forest products. Trees affected include: Boxelder, Norway, Red, Silver, and Sugar maples, Alders, Birches, Elms, Horsechestnut, Poplars, and Willows. A complete list of host trees in the United States, however, has not been determined. Previous infestations have occurred in New York, Illinois and New Jersey.

Residents suspecting they have seen ALB should report their findings to CAES at (203) 974-8474 or (203) 974-8485. Residents can also report sightings to APHIS via their website at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/.

With approximately 25,000 trees surveyed within the epicenter of the initial find of ALB in Jamaica Plain, NY and with NO NEW FINDS of ALB being detected there, survey work there is now being scaled back. Thus far, only 6 red maples at Faulkner Hospital, which were quickly removed and destroyed on July 6th, 2010, have been the only positive finds in that Regulated Area. In the Worcester Regulated Area, survey work and removal of infested trees continues. It is extremely important that we get the word out ASAP to everyone in the Boston, Brookline and Newton area to be on the lookout for adult Asian Longhorned Beetles, their exit holes, and egg-laying sites. Anyone seeing anything suspicious should report it immediately at http://massnrc.org/pests/albreport.aspx or toll-free: 1-866-702-9938. Take photos if you can. Spread the word, not the beetle! Get all the latest ALB news at: http://massnrc.org/pests/alb