Stingless Chinese wasp may save ash trees

In today’s Times-Journal there was a QMI Agency story on using stingless Chinese wasps to attack the larvae of the emerald ash borer (eab), which are native in China. Here is a QMI link to the original article. The eab is a metallic green beetle about the size of a cooked grain of rice. The eab was first detected near Detroit over a decade ago. Emerald ash borers are believed to have arrived in North America in wooden packing crates from China in the 1990’s. This research has been going on in many states for years. Scientists are rearing the wasps at the EAB Biological Control Facility in Brighton, Michigan. Michigan released some wasps in parts of the state in 2007 and they are just starting to see healthy trees. The introduction of a foreign species to attack another exotic, invasive species problem is always a risk in ways we do not yet understand. Can the wasps survive Ontario’s cold winters is unknown although Michigan’s success is a good sign. Here’s hoping these wasps are successful at eradicating eab and doing no harm. Our ash trees are depending on it.