Invasives, Plants and Bugs

Emerald Ash Borer

ALB, EAB, maybe your familiar with those letters and what they mean. The invasive insects that have changed the face of the urban forest that covers most of the northeast USA and the eastern province of Canada.

EAB, Emerald Ash Borer is the latest insect to devastate the native forest of the northeast. attacking Ash trees  quickly girdling the trunk through the feeding activity of the larvae. All size trees have been affected and this infestation has the same repercussions that the Chestnut blight and Dutch elm disease had in forever changing the face of our native forest. An extensive effort is now underway to confine this pest and eliminate host trees, unfortunately the adults do fly and the spread is inevitable.

ALB, Asian longhorn beetle arrived under the cover of shipping pallets and crates from China. A byproduct of the opening of imports from the east, the larvae chew their way out of the wood and fly over to the nearest tree to lay eggs. The signs of an infested tree are the dime size exit holes and the very distinctive egg sites. Piles of sawdust give them away. Once an infected tree is spotted, the area is then surveyed to see if more trees are infected and trees deemed to be host trees are then removed as well as the infected tree. Wood and byproducts of the removals are then taken to a special disposal site for incineration. Check out this site for more information.

Just when all sound bad, it gets worse, lurking in our gardens are trees, shrubs and other plants that have snuck in under the cover of something new to plant. So what's the harm? These plants hurt the diversity of our environment, they provide no useful purpose; no fruit for the birds, no insects to feed on the leaves. So that's sounds great no bugs, bugs are bad? Yes and no, harmful insects and beneficial insects abound, we need beneficial insects to keep the checks and balances in the environment. Losing the native plants to non-native invasive create a bland environment and losing native bird species is tragic. So the take home message is to plant natives whenever possible. Create a multi-layered garden, not just in plant types, species and heights. By creating this we help with the environment and create a natural one were the balance is restored, harmful insects are kept in check. Thus we can reduce the use of pesticides which for all is a very good thing!