Emerald ash borer

Description

The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), also known by the acronym EAB, is a green buprestid or jewel beetle native to north-eastern Asia that feeds on ash species. Females lay eggs in bark crevices on ash trees, and larvae feed underneath the bark of ash trees to emerge as adults in one to two years. In its native range, it is typically found at low densities and does not cause significant damage to trees native to the area. Outside its native range, it is an invasive species and is highly destructive to ash trees native to Europe and North America. Before it was found in North America, very little was known about emerald ash borer in its native range; this has resulted in much of the research on its biology being focused in North America. Local governments in North America are attempting to control it by monitoring its spread, diversifying tree species, and through the use of insecticides and biological control. French priest and naturalist Armand David collected a specimen of the species during one of his trips through Imperial China in the 1860s and 1870s. He found the beetle in Beijing and sent it to France, where the first brief description of Agrilus planipennis by the entomologist Léon Fairmaire was published in the Revue d'Entomologie in 1888.Unaware of Fairmaire's description, a separate description naming the species as Agrilus marcopoli was published in 1930 by Jan Obenberger. Adult beetles are typically bright metallic green and about 8.5 millimeters (0.33 in) long and 1.6 millimeters (0.063 in) wide. Elytra are typically a darker green, but can also have copper hues. Emerald ash borer is the only North American species of Agrilus with a bright red upper abdomen when viewed with the wings and elytra spread. The species also has a small spine found at the tip of the abdomen and serrate antennae that begin at the fourth antennal segment.They leave tracks in the trees they damage below the bark that are sometimes visible. Adults beetles of other species can often be misidentified by the public.