On your recent summer road trips, have you seen any of these purple boxes suspended from forest trees? They are traps for the Emerald Ash Borer, an insect that has done significant damage in the mid-western states. This month it was confirmed, Emerald Ash Borer has been found in Massachusetts! As the name implies, this insect attacks all ash species including; Franxinus pennsylvanica/Green Ash, Fraxinus Americana/White Ash, Fraxinus nigra/Black Ash and Fraxinus quadrangulata/Blue Ash Trees as well as horticultural cultivars.

Learn more about this insect at any of the links listed below.

Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Blog
United States Department of Agriculture:  Stop The Beetle
United States Department of Agriculture:  Quarantine Map
How to Identify an Ash Tree?



Note:  all images courtesy of the web

What happened to these tender leaves? They are victims of the Winter Moth- a damaging introduced pest that can eat through scores of leaves from trees, shrubs and sometimes perennials. Oak and cherry trees are favorites! These pests have few natural predators, lay eggs in the late fall/early winter, and emerge as bright green caterpillars in early spring. March and April are the vulnerable months when hungry caterpillars eat and eat and eat. Hand picking and destroying the caterpillars is feasible only on smaller plants. Mature plants are often treated with a suffocating spray once before the caterpillars emerge and again afterward.

For more detailed information about identification, its life stages are and potential  treatment options see the links below. Healthy leaves are necessary for proper growth and survival.

http://extension.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/winter-moth-identification-management

http://www.massnrc.org/pests/pestFAQsheets/winter%20moth.html

http://www.northeastnursery.com/garden/whatsnew_helpfulhints_wintermoth.html

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/03/09/mass-braces-for-winter-moth-surge/