Invasive beetle destroying Ash trees

Many of Canada’s majestic city trees are being devastated by invasive species.

Currently several cities are being obliged to cut down large Elm trees, many over 100 years old, victims of a fungus – Dutch Elm Disease – borne by the Elm bark beetle 

Another invasive beetle known as the Emerald Ash borer is forcing the destruction of more large shade trees, this time Ash trees.

The Emerald Ash borer is a small metallic green beetle which originated in eastern Asia.

First detected in the US in 2002 in Michigan in Ash wood in shipping material and has now spread to at least 13 US states and into Canada, killing millions of Ash trees.

This year’s long and bitter winter still wasn’t enough to kill off a substantial number of beetles and larvae.

In cities across central and eastern Canada, streets had lush  canopies of green leafy branches shading the entire street, are now barren.

Hamilton Ontario will lose 22,738 trees.

The beetle finds a weak spot in the tree’s bark for its eggs and the larvae then chew into and under the bark into the layer which carries nutrients up the tree. As they chew their way along, they effectively destroy the layer and the tree, unable to transfer nutrients up and down from roots to leaves, dies within one to three years.

There is little defence against the beetles, insecticides barely mitigate the problem. The solution, like with Dutch Elm is to destroy infected trees.

The city of Hamilton in southern Ontario has already lost 7,000 Ash trees, and is planning to remove about 2,300 per year.

One city councillor, Maria Pearson told CBC news a tree on a property she owns is over 80 years old, “It overshadows the whole house.  I can’t put my arms around it. That’s how big it is, but she’s going to have to come down”

By 2022 all Ash trees in the city, almost 23,000 will be gone. The city is trying to save about 800 by biannual insecticide injection but results are not conclusive.

The cost to remove the trees in Hamilton along is over $26 million.