EAB Update
Lee Townsend
Extension Entomologist
Agenda
• Identification and Impact
• Current status
• Control options – Homeowner & Commercial
applicator
• Biological control
• General information and questions
EAB calendar
Pupa April - May
Inactive October - April
Adults out mid-May
Feeding June - October
Adults mid-May – July
• Larvae feed under bark
June – October; disrupt
transport of water,
nutrients, carbohydrates
• Healthy trees killed within
2-3 years of first
symptoms
Emerald ash borer in KY
•EAB info - US
http://www.emeraldashborer.info/
•Emerald ash borer - KY
http://pest.ca.uky.edu/EXT/EAB/welcome.html
12 counties > 5 mill ash stems
54 counties > 2 mill
2012 EAB Risk Map
Red = infested
Brown = high
Orange = medium
Yellow = low
EAB Survey
2012 – 1,700 traps
Year
Traps
2008
2009
2010
2011
3,065
5,665
6,000
6,825
Positive # Beetles
Counties
0
0
10
200
9
182
11
219
New 2011
Anderson
Bracken
Boyle
Garrard
Hardin
Scott
Woodford
Anderson, Franklin, Henry, Owen,
Shelby, Woodford
Boone, Kenton, Campbell
Greenup - Boyd
Boyle - Garrard
Fayette - Jessamine
Hardin
Jefferson – Oldham
2012 Adult emergence
1st emergence
mid- May
450 to 500 dd base 50
Peak June – July
about 750 dd
70 to 140 dd ahead for 2012
Ohio State Recommendations
• Imidacloprid when EAB first found – within 15
mi high risk – in quarantine zone – low to
moderate risk
• Use Tree-äge when EAB pressure increases
• Use high rate of Tree-äge at infestation peak
• Monitor and treat as needed after peak
infestation
Treatment Options
• Systemic Soil Injections / Drenches:
– Imidacloprid (e.g. Merit, Xytect, Bayer Advanced Tree
& Shrub 12 Month Insect Control)
– Dinotefuran
• Systemic Trunk Injections:
– Imidacloprid (IMA-jet, Imicide)
– Emamectin benzoate (TREE-äge)
• Systemic Trunk Sprays:
– Dinotefuron (Safari)
• Bark and canopy sprays: Astro, Onyx
Realistic Expectations
• Insecticides can
protect ash trees
from EAB; success
is not guaranteed
• Insecticides are not
effective in
eradicating
infestations
Homeowner options
• 12 mo Tree & Shrub (imidacloprid)
• 12 mo Tree & Shrub (dinetofuran)
• Ace Caps (acephate)
Imidacloprid (12 month products)
Product
Tree & Shrub (1.47%)
quart
Protect & Feed (1.47%)
quart
Landscape Formula
(2.94%) gal
Granular Tree & Shrub +
Fertilizer (1.1%)
Rate/ in
1 fl oz
1 fl oz
$/inch
$0.60
($.20 dia)
$0.71
0.5 fl oz
$0.53
0.25 cup
?
Dinotefuran (Safari)
• Green Light Emerald Ash Borer Killer (2% G)
• Tree & Shrub Insect Control with Safari
1/2 to 2/3 cup per inch of tree diameter
• Apply early to mid-May
$5.33/lb
$5.70/lb
Acecap 3/8” Insecticide Implants
• 5 per pack $9.50 -
Arborists / Commercial Applicators
Imidacloprid (Group 4)
• Drench, soil injection, trunk injection
• Merit, Xytect, etc.
Safari 20 SG Insecticide
(dinotefuran) (Group 4)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Trunk spray – 12 to 24 oz/gal
Use 1 gal per 40” to 50” trunk dbh
1 – 4 weeks for uptake
Spray from root flare to 4’ to 5’ above ground
Low pressure - 10 to 20 psi
Do not apply to wet bark or within 12 hrs of
rain
Safari 20 SG Insecticide
• $390 / 3 lb container
• Low rate = $2.48/ in
circumference
• High rate = $3.10 /in
circumference
Tree-äge Emamectin benzoate
•
•
•
•
Restricted Use – Acute human toxicity
$559/liter
$399 injector
Cordless drill
• $3.15/ inch circumference
• 3 yrs with high rate
Professional Use Products
Soil injection / Drench
Imidacloprid Merit
Trunk injection
Imidacloprid IMA-jet Arborjet
Imicide Mauget
Pointer Wedgle
Bidrin Injecticide- B
Mauget
Emamectin Tree-age Arbojet
benzoate
Trunk Spray
**Dinotefuran Safari + PentraBark
Application
April to May
May to June
May to June
May to June
May to June
May
April to May
Professional Use Products
Preventive Bark & Foliage Cover Sprays
bifenthrin
Onyx
carbaryl
Sevin
cyfluthrin
Tempo
permethrin
Astro
2x at 4-week intervals – 1st application at black
locust bloom
Trunk Injections
• Absorbed more quickly than drench
• Large trees > 12” dbh
• Where drenches are not practical –
near water, etc.
• Potentially injure trunk, especially if
repeated
Summary
• Insecticides can offer protection
against EAB
• Success not assured – annual
treatments may be needed
• Factors in successful treatment not
understood yet
• Inventory ash – set priorities
1 CEU – Cat 10
Email your license number to me
today
Lee.Townsend@uky.edu
Importing natural enemies
Spathius agrili
• Attacks EAB larvae – detects infested trees,
injects egg into EAB larva
• Affects up to 90% of EAB larvae in Chinese
trees
• 3 to 4 generations per year
• Winter as pupae under bark
Tertastichus plannipennisi
• Attacks EAB larvae – detects infested trees,
injects egg into EAB larva
• 50% success rate
• Up to 127 adults per EAB larva
• Winter as larvae under bark
Oobius agrili
•
•
•
•
•
Attacks EAB egg
At least 4 generations per year
60% success rate
Up to 62 eggs/wasp
Winter as larvae in egg
Importing natural enemies
Environmental impact
• Are they specific to intended host?
• Can they be reared successfully for
mass release?
• Is our climate suitable?
What does the future hold?
• Will North American ash will follow the model
of Dutch elm disease - individual trees have
reduced life span but are able to reproduce
• OR American chestnut - individual trees die
before they can reproduce
• OR something entirely different
Factoids
• Ash in sunny, open conditions preferred over
shaded locations within canopies
• Blue ash appears to be less attractive than
green or white but is attacked as other ash
species die
• Stressed ash trees may be preferred but once
EAB is abundant healthy trees are attacked,
too
• 1.5” diameter to mature trees
EAB Hosts
• Only infests ash (Fraxinus) in the US
• EAB or “a closely related beetle” in Asian
attacks species of elm, walnut, and Pterocarya
(wingnut)
• Green ash appears to decline more rapidly
that white ash under similar conditions
Dispersal
• Unassisted rate in Michigan appears to have
been about 6 mi/year (0.6 mi/yr cited, too)
• On edges – EAB galleries up to 800 yds from
potential source
• BUT most within 100 – 200 yds
• 1.7 mi average by mated female
Eggs
• 50 to 90 eggs /
female
• In bark crevices
• Hatch in about
2 weeks
• Rough bark
Alternate hosts
• Given no alternative, female EAB will lay eggs
on alternate species
• “Ovipositional mistakes” do occur in the field
but appear to be rare
• Privet appears to be a suitable host for small
EAB larvae
Recommendations change, keep
fishing for new information …
Don’t believe everything you read
Don’t wait too late to ask for help
EAB Biology
Lee Townsend
Extension Entomologist
• Saplings may die after 1 year of attack
• Large ash trees may die within 3 to 4 years of
initial infestation
Adult feeding
Adults live 3
to 6 weeks
Edge
feeding on
foliage
Foliage feeding
• 5 to 7 days
before
mating
• 5 to 7 days
after mating
Egg-laying choices (lab)
Larva
• Up to 1 inch long
• Feed in phloem
and cambium
• Finished by
October
Larvae
• Serpentine
galleries in
phloem and
cambium
• Extensive damage
to waterconducting tissue
• Packed with frass
New wood
Old wood
Pupate – mid-April
2 to 3 weeks
from start of
pupation to and
adult