Purple Boxes In Williamstown Trees Tracking Invasive Beetle
  This purple box, on Green River Road, is one of many throughout the town aimed to trap the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle know to destroy millions of trees. Left is a picture of an emerald ash borer and the damage it can do, from the Florida Department of Agriculture. |
The emerald ash borer is a beetle that destroys ash trees that has recently been found in the region.
Over the last month, state officials have installed purple traps to both prevent tree damage and monitor the expansion of the invasive species.
"They're traps that the state has put out," Tree Warden Robert McCarthy said on Friday. "They've been up close to a month now."
This is the first year the species has been tracked in town, McCarthy said. Traps have been set up in various trees throughout the town.
The insect bores into the tree and strips the bark — killing the tree within two years, according to a emeraldashborer.info, a website maintained by a multistate partnership.
The emerald ash borer was not considered an immediate threat until it was discovered in Sauguerties, N.Y., last summer. The Department of Conservation and Recreation, in conjunction with other state agences, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Massachusetts Extension, is doing the survey in the counties of Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin this spring and summer.
Some 700 purple traps have been set out in the four counties. Anyone who thinks they have seen evidence of ash borers should call USDA at 1-866-322-4512 or report it to the state Department of Agricultural Resources here.
A recent article on the ash borer and the survey that's under way can be found in pdf form here.
Updated 3:10 p.m., May 14, 2011, with more information.
