August is “Tree Check” month. It’s the time when ecologists are out surveying the forests to see if invasive insect species are showing up in the state. Here in Vermont scientists are primarily on the lookout for Asian longhorned beetle, Emerald ash borer, and hemlock woolly adelgid.
So far the longhorned beetle and the emerald ash borer haven’t infiltrated...
The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is an invasive pest that is decimating ash trees across the United States and Canada. By 2019, it’s estimated that the beetle will have caused economic damage to the tune of $10 billion.
A tiny fly from the Pacific Northwest may provide new hope for towering hemlock forests dying along the East Coast.
Deep-green hemlock forests stretch from Georgia to southern Canada. Or at least they used to. Over the last few decades, the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive insect, has killed millions of these trees as it spreads north and south...
Smelling good is just part of what some beetles must do to find a mate. They have to exude the proper perfume at the right time of day and right season of the year, a UA-led team found.
A longhorned beetle’s sexy scent might make a female perk up her antennae. But when the males of several species all smell the same, a female cannot choose by cologne alone.
The state's new system to confront the invasive emerald ash borer, which relies on quarantine zones drawn around forests known to be infested, is unique among the 25 states in the eastern U.S. where the ash-devouring pest is found.
As a consequence of no longer lining up with federal control rules, the U.S....
Asian carp. Burmese python. Hemlock woolly adelgid. These are just some of the most destructive pests and the world's worst invasive species that raise the hackles of fisherman, farmers, and wildlife managers everywhere they invade.
But how do they establish themselves and take over non-native species so effectively and efficiently?
As Memorial Day approaches and the summer camping season gets started, take a moment to think about the places that you love and how you can help to protect them. Chances are that trees make up a key component of these places. A spreading sugar maple, a towering ash; trees are vital to many of the places iconic to Vermont and New England.
The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is a pest species that has killed tens of millions of ash trees and has the potential to kill most of the 8.7 billion ash trees in North America. The beetle, native to Asia, was accidentally introduced to the U.S. in 2002 in Michigan. Since then, it has spread into the eastern U.S. and southeastern Canada.
The long cold winter of 2014-2015 will go in the record books for a number of reasons. It certainly impacted Vermont’s hemlock woolly adelgid survey program. Hemlock woolly adelgid (hwa) is an invasive insect from Asia that feeds on hemlock trees. It has been known to be in southern Vermont since 2007; primarily in Windham County, with small isolated infestations in Windsor...
In the early 1920s, the city planted thousands of red pines in Leeds in an effort to protect the nearby watershed.
Almost a century later, the trees populating the city's water supply land off Kennedy and Chesterfield roads are dying off rapidly, in part due to an invasive insect called the red pine scale. The pest first spread in southern New England, New York, New Jersey and eastern...
We are finally coming out of the deep freeze that we were in for pretty much all of February. Forty-three days below freezing in some parts of the state, 5-degree averages in Montpelier and Rutland. There will be some casualties of the cold weather – but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
In fact, this winter’s harsh weather is good news – at least temporarily – for those combating a...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking approval for the intentional release of an Asian species of parasitic wasp in order to combat the spread of an invasive beetle wreaking havoc on North American ash trees.
