Destructive beetles found in northeast Iowa

Destructive insects known for killing ash trees have been found in new locations in northeast Iowa.

The state Department of Natural Resources said five insect larvae with characteristics consistent with the emerald ash borer have been found in two trees in Allamakee County. One tree was in the Pool Slough area and the other was in the Black Hawk Point Wildlife Area. The second is the furthest west the invasive pests have been spotted in the state.

The county at the eastern most part of the state has been under quarantine since 2010 when the metallic green beetle was discovered along the Mississippi River, said Tivon Feeley, the DNR?s forest health program leader.

The new finds from late October are the first time the emerald ash borer was found in sentinel trees in the state. Those are ash trees purposely girdled to attract the beetles. More than 400 of them are being checked as part of a surveillance effort.

?I think it?s a little important because it?s now actually in the state, not on an island,? Feeley said. ?And it?s in a very heavily wooded area of the state.?

The discoveries mean state officials must keep educating the public about getting rid of ash trees in urban areas. Feeley said compromised ash trees can suddenly fall. That?s OK for the 52 million woodland ash trees found in forests in Iowa. But not so much for the 3 million trees in urban areas. Feeley said residents within 15 miles of the latest finds should take down the trees through the help of an arborist.

The beetles are relatively harmless in their adult stage, but as larvae they feed on the living tissue under an ash tree?s bark. That cuts a supply of nutrients, minerals and water to the tree. The tree dies in a few years.