scholarly journals Comparing Methods for Monitoring Establishment of the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis, Coleoptera: Buprestidae) Egg Parasitoid Oobius agrili (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) in Maryland, USA

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 659 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Jennings ◽  
Jian Duan ◽  
Paula Shrewsbury
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
Egg Parasitoid ◽  
Agrilus Planipennis ◽  
The State ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Percent Parasitism ◽  
Ash Trees ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Invasive Beetle

The emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (EAB), is an invasive beetle that has caused widespread mortality of ash trees in North America. To date, four parasitoids have been introduced in North America for EAB biological control, including the egg parasitoid Oobius agrili Zhang & Huang (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). Monitoring EAB egg parasitism is challenging because female beetles oviposit in bark crevices and EAB eggs and O. agrili are small (<1 mm in diameter). Consequently, multiple methods have been developed to recover this parasitoid. Here we compared two methods, visual surveys and bark sifting, used to monitor establishment of O. agrili in Maryland, USA. From 2009 to 2015, a total of 56,176 O. agrili were released at 32 sites across the state. In 2016, we surveyed nine of the study sites for O. agrili establishment using both methods. We compared the amount of time spent searching for eggs separately in each method, and also analyzed the effects of years-post release, total number of parasitoids released, and median month of release, on percent parasitism of EAB eggs, and the percentage of trees per site with parasitized EAB eggs. We found that visually surveying ash trees for EAB eggs was more efficient than bark sifting; the percent parasitism observed using the two methods was similar, but visually surveying trees was more time-efficient. Both methods indicate that O. agrili can successfully establish populations in Maryland, and June may be the best month to release O. agrili in the state. Future research should investigate EAB phenology in the state to help optimize parasitoid release strategies.

scholarly journals Challenges, tactics and integrated management of emerald ash borer in North America

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah G McCullough
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Agrilus Planipennis ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Ash Trees ◽  
Invasion Impacts ◽  
Individual Trees

Abstract Emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire), discovered in southeastern Michigan, USA in 2002, has become the most destructive and costly invasive forest insect in North America. This phloem-boring beetle has also invaded Moscow, Russia and continued spread of EAB potentially threatens European ash (Fraxinus spp.) species. This review summarizes EAB life history, including interspecific variation in host preference, invasion impacts and challenges of detecting new infestations and provides an overview of available management tactics. Advances in systemic insecticides, particularly emamectin benzoate products applied via trunk injection, have yielded effective and practical options both to protect individual trees and to slow EAB population growth and ash decline on an area-wide basis without disrupting natural enemies. Economic costs of treating ash are substantially lower than removal costs, retain ecosystem services provided by the trees, reduce sociocultural impacts and conserve genetic diversity in areas invaded by EAB. Girdled ash trees are highly attractive to EAB adults in low-density populations and debarking small girdled trees to locate larval galleries is the most effective EAB detection method. An array of woodpeckers, native larval parasitoids and introduced parasitoids attack EAB life stages but mortality is highly variable. Area-wide management strategies that integrate insecticide-treated trees, girdled ash trap trees and biological control can be adapted for local conditions to slow and reduce EAB impacts.

Estimates of emerald ash borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) larval galleries in branch samples from asymptomatic urban ash trees (Oleaceae)

2015 ◽  
Vol 148 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean J. Turgeon ◽  
Jeffrey G. Fidgen ◽  
Krista L. Ryall ◽  
Taylor A. Scarr
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
North America ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Agrilus Planipennis ◽  
Significant Source ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Ash Trees

AbstractAgrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is causing extensive mortality of ash (Fraxinus Linnaeus; Oleaceae) in North America. Once detected in an area, resource managers require methods to obtain estimates that could improve management decisions. We studied the within-crown and within-branch distribution and abundance of A. planipennis feeding galleries by sampling 3-m-long branches from asymptomatic urban ash trees and subdividing each branch into 12 sections of 25 cm each. We found galleries in all 12 sections of some, but not all, branches. Section was a significant source of variation in A. planipennis gallery density/m2 of branch surface area. A comparison of predictive power and efficiency of estimates for samples of increasing length, and for samples of the same length but consisting of different combinations of sections, revealed that those based on the two basal 25-cm sections of a branch from the lower-crown or mid-crown of an asymptomatic tree were less accurate and precise than those based on more sections, but were the most cost effective. Whittling more sections per branch, irrespective of the combinations of branch sections per length, improved predictive power but reduced cost effectiveness. We also observed that crown level was not important, and aspect was only marginally so, when estimating gallery abundance per sampled branch.

scholarly journals Ash Presence and Abundance Derived from Composite Landsat and Sentinel-2 Time Series and Lidar Surface Models in Minnesota, USA

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor K. Host ◽  
Matthew B. Russell ◽  
Marcella A. Windmuller-Campione ◽  
Robert A. Slesak ◽  
Joseph F. Knight
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Agrilus Planipennis ◽  
The State ◽  
Average Height ◽  
Position Information ◽  
Ash Trees

Ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) are a prominent species in Minnesota forests, with an estimated 1.1 billion trees in the state, totaling approximately 8% of all trees. Ash trees are threatened by the invasive emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire), which typically results in close to 100% tree mortality within one to five years of infestation. A detailed, wall-to-wall map of ash presence is highly desirable for forest management and monitoring applications. We used Google Earth Engine to compile Landsat time series analysis, which provided unique information on phenologic patterns across the landscape to identify ash species. Topographic position information derived from lidar was added to improve spatial maps of ash abundance. These input data were combined to produce a classification map and identify the abundance of ash forests that exist in the state of Minnesota. Overall, 12,524 km2 of forestland was predicted to have greater than 10% probability of ash species present. The overall accuracy of the composite ash presence/absence map was 64% for all ash species and 72% for black ash, and classification accuracy increased with the length of the time series. Average height derived from lidar was the best model predictor for ash basal area (R2 = 0.40), which, on average, was estimated as 16.1 m2 ha−1. Information produced from this map will be useful for natural resource managers and planners in developing forest management strategies which account for the spatial distribution of ash on the landscape. The approach used in this analysis is easily transferable and broadly scalable to other regions threatened with forest health problems such as invasive insects.

scholarly journals Nontarget Insects Caught on Emerald Ash Borer Purple Monitoring Traps in Western Pennsylvania

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 219-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Skvarla ◽  
Jeffrey D. Holland
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
North American ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
Agrilus Planipennis ◽  
Sticky Traps ◽  
Pest Insects ◽  
Ash Trees ◽  
Western Pennsylvania ◽  
Monitoring Traps ◽  
Invasive Beetle

Abstract Emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is an invasive beetle attacking North American ash trees (Fraxinus L. [Oleaceae]). Populations in infested areas are monitored with purple sticky traps. During summer 2008, we monitored nine pairs of purple traps and clear control traps to determine which other insect families are attracted to these traps and whether these traps might be used to monitor other pest insects. We argue that monitoring bycatch in these traps could greatly increase the potential of finding other invasive species.

scholarly journals Emerald Ash Borer Approaches the Borders of the European Union and Kazakhstan and Is Confirmed to Infest European Ash

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 691
Author(s):  
Mark G. Volkovitsh ◽  
Andrzej O. Bieńkowski ◽  
Marina J. Orlova-Bienkowskaja
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
Agrilus Planipennis ◽  
European Russia ◽  
Invasive Pest ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Green Ash ◽  
Ash Trees ◽  
European Ash

Emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, native to East Asia, is an invasive pest of ash in North America and European Russia. This quarantine species is a threat to ash trees all over Europe. Survey in ten provinces of European Russia in 2019–2020 showed that EAB had spread faster and farther than was previously thought. The new infested sites were first detected in St. Petersburg (110–120 km from the EU border: Estonia, Finland) and Astrakhan Province (50 km from the Kazakhstan border). The current range of EAB in Europe includes Luhansk Province of Ukraine and 18 provinces of Russia: Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Moscow, Orel, Ryazan, Smolensk, St. Petersburg, Tambov, Tula, Tver, Vladimir, Volgograd, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl. Within these, only seven quarantine phytosanitary zones in five provinces are declared by the National Plant Protection Organization of Russia. EAB was not found in the regions along the Middle Volga: Mari El, Chuvash and Tatarstan republics, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara and Saratov provinces. The infested sites in St. Petersburg and in the Lower Volga basin are range enclaves separated from the core invasion range by 470 and 370 km, correspondingly. It is possible that new enclaves can appear in the cities of Eastern Europe and Kazakhstan far from the current known range. All previously known infestations in European Russia were in green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), which was introduced from North America, and individual trees of European ash (F. excelsior). A first confirmed case of mass decline of several thousand of EAB-infested European ash trees in Moscow province is provided. Therefore, there is no more doubt that under certain conditions EAB can seriously damage native ash trees in European forests.

Semiochemistry and chemical ecology of the emerald ash borerAgrilus planipennis(Coleoptera: Buprestidae)

2014 ◽  
Vol 147 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Silk ◽  
Krista Ryall
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Chemical Ecology ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
The United States ◽  
Agrilus Planipennis ◽  
Invasive Pest ◽  
Mate Finding ◽  
Pheromone Components ◽  
Ash Trees

AbstractThe emerald ash borer (EAB),Agrilus planipennisFairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is a very serious invasive pest in North America, causing extremely high levels of mortality to ash trees (FraxinusLinnaeus, Oleaceae) in the United States of America and Canada. Knowledge of buprestid chemical ecology is sparse, but the appearance of EAB in North America and its devastating ecological and economic impacts, particularly in the urban environment, have provided an opportunity to study the semiochemistry, natural history, and ecology of this buprestid in detail. This review will summarise the chemical ecology of EAB to date, discussing studies on semiochemistry, natural history, and behaviour with respect to host and mate finding that have identified several female-produced pheromone components (contact and sex pheromones), and attractive host kairomones. Earlier reviews focused on studies of attractive host volatiles with respect to development of a trapping system and visual and contact phenomena in EAB mate finding. This has led to the development of an efficient trapping system for EAB, with attempts to optimise the range of variables in trap protocols, combining pheromone components, release rates, and combinations with host kairomones, as well as trap type, placement, height, and colour being taken into account.

scholarly journals Establishment and Early Impact of Spathius galinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) on Emerald Ash Borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in the Northeastern United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (5) ◽  
pp. 2121-2130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian J Duan ◽  
Roy G Van Driesche ◽  
Ryan S Crandall ◽  
Jonathan M Schmude ◽  
Claire E Rutledge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
North America ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Agrilus Planipennis ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Marginal Rate ◽  
Larval Parasitoid ◽  
Ash Trees

Abstract The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, a buprestid beetle native to Asia, has become a serious pest of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) in North America since the early 2000s. Due to the impracticality of applying insecticides in natural forests, biocontrol is the most viable method to manage EAB in natural ecosystems. Here, we report the first evidence for the establishment and impact of Spathius galinae Belokobylskij & Strazenac, a larval parasitoid first released in North America in 2016 and 2017 at six mixed-hardwood forest sites, in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts. We also report current levels of abundance and parasitism of another introduced larval EAB parasitoid, Tetrastichus planipennisi Yang (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), released in 2015 and 2016 in these same sites. Spathius galinae was recovered at all release sites in 2018, and its density in sampled trees had increased 1.5- to 20-fold (relative to the first postrelease sample year), reaching a final density of 2.3–14.3 broods/m2 of phloem area and causing 13.1–49.2% marginal rate of parasitism at four of the six sites. In contrast, T. planipennisi was only recovered in 2018 at four of the six release sites, and both its density (0.1–2.3 broods/m2 of phloem area) and parasitism (0.1–5.6%) were lower than that of S. galinae throughout the study at the four sites where recoveries were made. Our data fill a critical gap in the development of a biocontrol-based EAB management plan to protect surviving ash trees capable of reaching maturity and producing replacement trees.

scholarly journals Horizontal transmission of the entomopathogenic fungal isolate INRS-242 of Beauveria bassiana in emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narin Srei ◽  
Robert Lavallée ◽  
Claude Guertin
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
North America ◽  
Beauveria Bassiana ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Agrilus Planipennis ◽  
Fungal Isolate ◽  
Ash Trees

AbstractEmerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, is an invasive and destructive beetle that causes extensive damages to ash trees in North America. The entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana is considered as an effective biological control agent for EAB adult populations. Using an assisted autodissemination with the fungal isolate INRS-242 of B. bassiana, our research aims to investigate the possibility of horizontal transmission of the fungal disease from infected to uninfected EAB adults during mating. Results show that the efficiency of fungal transmission is significantly related to the sex of EAB carrying the pathogen. EAB males are the promising vector to transmit INRS-242 isolate of B. bassiana to their partners during mating. Results strengthen the potential of the fungal autodissemination device as a powerful biological strategy to control EAB populations.

Effects of Extreme Low Winter Temperatures on the Overwintering Survival of the Introduced Larval Parasitoids Spathius galinae and Tetrastichus planipennisi: Implications for Biological Control of Emerald Ash Borer in North America

2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 1145-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian J Duan ◽  
Leah S Bauer ◽  
Roy Van Driesche ◽  
Jonathan M Schmude ◽  
Toby Petrice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
The United States ◽  
Agrilus Planipennis ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cold Wave ◽  
Larval Parasitoids ◽  
Winter Temperatures ◽  
Tetrastichus Planipennisi ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract Climate change has been linked to shifts in the distribution and phenology of species although little is known about the potential effects that extreme low winter temperatures may have on insect host–parasitoid interactions. In late January 2019, northern regions of the United States experienced a severe cold wave caused by a weakened jet stream, destabilizing the Arctic polar vortex. Approximately 3 mo later at six study sites in southern Michigan and three in southern Connecticut, we sampled the overwintering larvae of the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), and two larval parasitoids, Spathius galinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Tetrastichus planipennisi (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), that are being introduced as emerald ash borer biocontrol agents in North America. At these nine study sites, emerald ash borer-infested ash trees and/or saplings were debarked and each overwintering emerald ash borer and parasitoid larva was then examined for cold-induced mortality, as indicated by a brown coloration, flaccid, and watery consistency. In early spring in Michigan, we found 4.5–26% of emerald ash borer larvae, 18–50% of S. galinae larvae, and 8–35% of T. planipennisi larvae were killed by cold. In Connecticut where temperatures were more moderate than in Michigan during the 2019 cold wave, &lt;2% of the larval hosts and parasitoids died from cold injury. Our findings revealed that cold-induced mortality of overwintering larvae of emerald ash borer and its larval parasitoids varied by location and species, with higher mortality of parasitoid larvae in most Michigan sites compared to host larvae. The potential impacts of our findings on the management of emerald ash borer using biocontrol are discussed.

Progress in the use of detection dogs for emerald ash borer monitoring

2020 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ute Hoyer-Tomiczek ◽  
Gernot Hoch
Keyword(s):  
Urban Forest ◽  
Emerald Ash Borer ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Agrilus Planipennis ◽  
Test Series ◽  
Detection Accuracy ◽  
Entry Points ◽  
Ash Trees ◽  
Scent Detection ◽  
Single Blind

Abstract Early detection of infestation by the emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis is extremely difficult; hence developing additional methods is desirable. We built on the successful use of canine scent detection for the invasive long-horned beetles Anoplophora glabripennis and Anoplophora chinensis and trained six dogs in detection of EAB. A first test series was performed to evaluate detection accuracy of five of these dogs. Seven different experimental settings were tested under single blind conditions: (1) forest nursery, (2) piles of firewood, (3) firewood on the ground, (4) ash logs on the ground, (5) old urban ash trees, (6) urban forest with ash trees and (7) natural forest with ash trees. In total, 214 positive samples were presented to the dogs, out of which 20 remained undetected. The experiments ascertained sensitivity (correct positives of all positives) ranging from 73.3 to 100 percent and specificity (correct negatives of all negatives) from 88.9 to 99.8 percent in the tested settings. This initial study demonstrates that trained dogs are able to detect EAB scent from sources such as larval galleries in bark/wood, frass, living or dead larvae or dead dry beetles. The numbers of tested dogs and test series were limited, and further studies are needed to confirm the initial results. However, the preliminary findings demonstrate the potential of the method particularly for inspection of wood or plants at entry points.

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