Emerald Ash Borer
Research and Technology Development Meeting
Crown Plaza, Romulus, Michigan - October 5-6. 2004
Compiled by:
Victor Mastro, USDA-APHIS PPQ, Otis ANGB, Massachussetts
Richard Reardon, USDA-FS FHTET, Morgantown, West Virginia
USDA Forest Service FHTET-2004-15.
Contents
Forward
The emerald ash borer, (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, a buprestid wood borer, was
discovered infesting and killing trees in the area of Detroit, Michigan, in June of 2002. It was
subsequently discovered in Essex Co., Ontario, in August. Surveys now indicate that 13 Michigan
counties encompassing greater than 2,500 square miles are now generally infested. A number of
isolated small populations have also been found in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, and Virginia.
Most of these are thought to be the result of movement of infested nursery stock, logs, or
firewood. Potential impacts of this insect, if allowed to spread, are substantial. In the U.S. alone,
there are over 700 million ash trees, and a U.S. Forest Service report estimated the loss from EAB
at between 20 and 60 billion dollars. In response to the discovery of these wood borer populations,
federal, state, and local authorities held a number of meetings and prepared risk assessments. Both
the Canadian and the United States version of the risk assessments conclude that substantial impacts
would be the result of this introduction unless actions are undertaken to mitigate them. A
Respective Science Panel was convened in each affected country, and their reports have similar
recommendations: to develop a plan to contain and, eventually, eliminate emerald ash borer (EAB)
populations in both countries. The plans are based on a zone management concept, including
extensive survey efforts. The U.S. Science Panel also recommended that a strong commitment be
made to developing the scientific information and technology necessary to carry out any management
programs. A list of areas where research was critically needed was also developed.
As funding from various sources became available for EAB technology development and
research, a number of federal, state, provincial and university groups became involved in the work.
The meeting in Romulus was the second effort to pull together the many scientists involved in the
work in a forum in which they could detail their interest and share their preliminary findings. The
goal of the meeting was to identify areas of common interest, coordinate existing efforts, minimize
duplication, and identify critical areas not being addressed. The abstracts contained in this report
represent a robust response by the scientific community to the challenges offered by this exotic
pest. In the future, it is hoped that this response will be sufficient to address the EAB problem, and
help prepare the land managers and scientific community for other invasions.
Acknowledgements
We thank the authors of the abstracts for providing current information on emerald ash borer.
Thanks also to Mark Riffe, INTECS International, for format and design of this document, and
to FHTET for providing funding to print these abstracts.
For additional copies, contact Lenora MacNevin in Otis ANGB, Massachussetts, at (508) 563-9303 (email:
Lenora.MacNevin@aphis.usda.gov) or Richard Reardon in Morgantown, West Virginia, at (304) 285-1566
(email: rreardon@fs.fed.us).
On the cover: year-old emerald ash borer galleries. Photo by David Cappaert,
available at www.forestryimages.org as UGA1460075.
Most of the abstracts were submitted in an electronic format, and were edited to
achieve a uniform format and typeface. Each contributor is responsible for the
accuracy and content of his or her own paper. Statements of the contributors from
outside of the U.S. Department of Agriculture may not necessarily reflect the
policy of the Department. Some participants did not submit abstracts, and so their
presentations are not represented here.
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Remarks about pesticides appear in some technical papers represented by these
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