State agricultural officials have found the first Emerald Ash Borer beetle in Delaware near a survey site near Newark and Hockessin.
The invasive insect has now spread to 28 states since it came from Asia 12 years ago, according to Faith Kuehn, a state Department of Agriculture administrator.
Kuehn says the green beetles will lay their eggs inside of an ash tree, leaving them a nearly endless buffet of wood to feed on.
“The structure of the tree that provides the support is being damaged by this larvae tunneling through it and that weakens the tree,” she said.
Kuehn says the effect on Delaware’s forests will be minimal, as ash trees are pretty rare on public lands.
“The biggest impact is going to be on homeowners and landowners who might have [ash trees] on their property, particularly in some of the cities in northern Delaware – Wilmington and Newark that have ash in their parks.”
Homeowners who do have ash trees should watch for signs of decay and potentially remove the tree to prevent it from falling unexpectedly if it’s in poor health.
Woodpeckers can also signal the arrival of the bug, as the bird tries to dig out the larvae for food.
You can find a list of symptoms and tree species you can replace it with on the Department of Agriculture’s website.