Emerald ash borer

EAB and Ash tree care Q&A

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EAB arrives in Minnesota - Be on the lookout for big trouble in a small package.

Emerald ash borer (EAB) is an insect that destroys ash trees – and it has just arrived in Minnesota.

EAB was found in a St. Paul neighborhood on May 14, 2009. The insect only kills ash trees, but it does so in great numbers. EAB has already killed millions of ash trees in North America. It is expected to have a huge effect on Minnesota's landscape and the 937 million ash trees that grow in our cities and forests.

Although the EAB can fly short distances on its own, much of its spread is due to humans transporting it as larvae burrowed under the bark of firewood or landscape trees.

The problem with EAB is its larvae. Adult female emerald ash borers, descendents of the accidentally imported insects, lay their eggs on the bark of ash trees. When the eggs hatch, the larvae burrow under the bark and eat the living tissue they find there. As they do, they cut off the life-giving channels that carry nutrients, water, and sugar to nourish the tree. After two or three years, enough of the channels are cut off so the tree starves to death.

This invasive (spreading) species was accidentally brought to the United States from Asia in the 1990s. It was first discovered in Michigan in 2002. Since then it has been found in Ontario, Canada, and Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Missouri, Wisconsin, and now Minnesota.