Emerald Ash Borer Monitoring
New York Invasive Species Awareness Week – NYISAW Emerald Ash Borer Monitoring Tuesday July 12th, 2016 – All day around the City of Jamestown Since the arrival of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) to the United States, many agencies and organizations have been working to detect the presence and combat the infestations of this invasive insect. Within New York State, one method deployed by the Department of Environmental Conservation is the erection of purple prism traps in ash trees. These traps, easily recognized by their purple color and attractive due to their stressed ash tree lure, have been used...
Read MoreSummer Forest Pests
While many are on summer vacation or are making their summertime plans, forest pests are making their plans too. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid and Emerald Ash Borer, both invasive species that are now present in Chautauqua County and beyond, are setting their sites on some summertime love and beautiful landscapes to destroy. As you may recall, this past winter we joined forces with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE) to establish an educational outreach project using bright yellow signs with information about these forest pests. Many of these signs were erected along the...
Read MoreBirds As EAB Indicators
Being small in size as an adult and hidden underneath tree bark as larvae, Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) can be rather difficult for humans to detect. For bark-foraging birds such as woodpeckers however, this is not a difficult task. As these birds move up and down a tree’s trunk and branches, they listen for larvae chewing on the wood and can even feel vibrations from the larvae moving through the galleries they create. Once detected, woodpeckers will hammer away at the bark in order to collect the larvae beneath. While the larvae is removed from the bark, a hole and missing bark around...
Read MoreEmerald Ash Borer Awareness Week
As time has gone on our country has developed holidays to commemorate our presidents, honor veterans that have served or been lost at war, recognize the tireless efforts of civil rights leaders, and many more. In many cases however, these holidays don’t recognize all the important issues or ongoing causes that continually shape our culture, health, and environment. In response to this, many awareness days, weeks and even months have been established. While this upcoming Monday marks a major holiday, this week marks a special cause: Emerald Ash Borer Awareness. Declared by many states...
Read MoreEarly Signs of Emerald Ash Borer
At about the size of a tic-tac, the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) doesn’t seem like it could possibly do much harm; however, its size allows its invasion to often go undetected. The ash borer is a non-native wood boring beetle that is capable of causing thousands of dollars of damage to ash trees, which make up 10% of New York’s forest and are favorable for planting along street sides in urban centers and towns. With an invader that is so small and with so many trees, how is it possible to detect this unwelcome bug? Knowing the signs and symptoms can help catch this intruder early in...
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