(Published Saturday, June 16, 2007 01:14:27 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Frank Schultz/Gazette staff
JANESVILLE
A recent state effort to find the dreaded beetle that kills ash trees has found-drum roll, please-none.
But don't start celebrating just yet.
"Just because we didn't find anything doesn't mean that we are-pardon the pun-out of the woods," said Mick Skwarok, spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
The emerald ash borer is an Asian native that has killed millions of ash trees, mainly in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Northern Illinois has some infestations, some within 30 miles of the Wisconsin border.
Skwarok said Friday that emerald ash borers were not found in any of the approximately 1,400 trees that were cut down and stripped of their bark last fall and winter.
Those trees were cut in some 30 counties, including Rock and Walworth.
"They found native boring insects, and that's it," Skwarok said.
That's good news, but a better indicator of Wisconsin being EAB-free will be the results of another detection method.
State workers also "girdled" about 4,500 trees last fall, winter and spring. They cut the bark off a section of each tree but left the trees alive. Hopes are that if ash borers are around, nature will take its course: The wounded trees will emit chemicals announcing their distress, the beetles will detect the chemicals and attack the trees.
The girdled trees will be examined starting next fall.
"The results we see next year might be more telling because those are in essence our traps, our early-detection tools," Skwarok said.
Meanwhile, "residents in Wisconsin and visitors to the state need to remain vigilant," Skwarok said. "This is the time of the year when it's pretty easy to identify ash trees. It is also the time of year when they should be leafed out, and if people see something other than that, they should take a closer look."
A lot of things, such as drought stress or other pests could give an ash tree bald spots or damaged bark, Skwarok cautioned, so residents should educate themselves on the telltale signs. A visit to the state EAB Web portal would supply the needed knowledge, he suggested.
Skwarok also urged residents to learn how to identify an ash tree and take a good look at the pictures of the emerald ash borer itself.
"You wouldn't believe how many calls we get to our hot line from people who have found tiger beetles and cicadas and other kinds of bugs that aren't even close to emerald ash borer," he said.
Skwarok said the state has tentative plans are to girdle more trees in 2008, but that depends on funding.
Skwarok said Wisconsin wouldn't be among the first states to benefit from a new, experimental control measure. The federal government is considering whether to release tiny Asian wasps that kill emerald ash borers.
The wasps lay eggs inside the larvae and eggs of emerald ash borers. When the wasps hatch, they feed on their hosts.
Michigan and maybe Ohio or Indiana would be the first to see the wasps, if they are approved for release, Skwarok said.
However, Wisconsin could benefit sometime in the future if the wasps prove beneficial and don't cause any unintended damage, he added.
