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During fall outdoor activities be careful not to spread exotic insects

Published: Monday, September 28, 2009

Story Source: Christopher Starbuck, 573-882-9630

COLUMBIA, Mo. -While Missourians enjoy fall outdoor activities, they should take care to avoid spreading exotic insect pests, said a University of Missouri Extension horticulturist.

Missourians should learn to identify potential invaders and how they spread through the transport of firewood and other infested plant material or on recreational vehicles, said Chris Starbuck.

Due to extensive media coverage, many Missourians know about the destructive potential of the emerald ash borer, a tiny (about 3/8 inch long) metallic-green beetle that has killed tens of millions of ash trees in Michigan and Ohio, Starbuck said.

This pest was discovered in southeast Missouri in 2008. Fortunately, it has not yet been found in Missouri outside Wayne County, he said.

"However, its presence in the state reinforces the need for concerned Missourians to do what they can to slow the spread of this and other exotic pests," he said.

Two destructive exotic pests that have faded from public awareness in Missouri are the gypsy moth and Asian longhorned beetle.

The gypsy moth has been slowly working its way west and now infests parts of Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. In its larval stage, the insect defoliates hundreds species of shrubs and trees. The gypsy moth caterpillar has five pairs of blue spots, followed by six pairs of red spots and a yellow median along its back.

"We do not yet have a verified infestation here, but it is important to remind people camping in those states to check their vehicles for egg masses before returning to Missouri. Firewood should never be transported from an infested area," he said.

In recent years the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) has appeared in isolated infestations in several parts of the United States. An infestation in Chicago in the 1990s was thought to have been eradicated, but recent evidence suggests the beetle may be back, Starbuck said.

The ALB is a large insect, about an inch long, with long black and white antennae. The body is glossy black with irregular white spots. It colonizes and eventually kills maples and other deciduous hardwood trees.

Individuals who find insects they think may be emerald ash borers, gypsy moths or Asian longhorned beetles should collect a specimen and take it to a local MU Extension center or the Missouri Department of Conservation.

For more information about efforts to detect and eradicate the emerald ash borer in Missouri, see http://eab.missouri.edu.

To learn more about identification of insects and diseases that might be transported by wood products, see http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/.

An emerald ash borer
Photo credit: David Cappaert, Michigan State University

Gypsy moths and their egg masses
Photo credit: John H. Ghent, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

Asian longhorned beetle
Photo credit: Kenneth R. Law, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org