Emerald ash borer destroys 10 large trees in Edmundston

The City of Edmundstonplans to cut down 10 ash trees this week that it planted more than 30 years ago, because of damage caused by the destructive emerald ash borer.

"It's very unfortunate, but it was inevitable," Alain Laplante, an urban forester with the city's public works department, said in a statement.

Once the presence of the flying beetle was confirmed in the cityin 2018, officials knew all ash trees were at risk, he said. The invasive insect has killedmillions of trees across North America.

The adult beetle, which has a metallicemerald green back and bright green underbelly, lays its eggs on the bark of an ash tree.

After the eggs hatch, the larvae bore through the bark, feeding on the inner barkand outer sapwood,creating S-shapedtunnels that erode the tree's ability to feed.

When the beetles emerge, they leaveD-shaped exit holes.Immature beetles feed on the foliage, creating irregular notches in the leaves.

A tree can be destroyed within oneto five years, depending on the level of infestation.

Once the damage is detected, the insect has already left the area and is attacking trees elsewhere, according to experts.

The 10 trees, located along Saint-Franois Street, are clearly showing signs that they are being attacked by the the emerald ash borer, the release said.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency stipulatesthat a tree with a dieback level above 30 per centmust be felled and destroyed.

Laplante said the 10 trees will be replaced with other hardwoods in the fall.

The emerald ash borer has been in Canada since at least 2002but wasn'tdetected in the Atlantic region until it hitEdmundston. It hassince spread across New Brunswick.

It poses no threat to human healthbut poses "a major economic and environmental threat to urban and forested areas of North America," the federal agency has said.

Individual beetles can travel between 400 and700metresa year, but the populationcanspread much farther and fasterwhen it piggybacks onlogs, wood chips and firewood being transportedby people.

The emerald ash borer isnative to China and eastern Asia.