Purple Boxes along roads in NY/PA/MD

[Toolshed]

I saw a lot of these purple boxes hanging from Trees in the Adirondacks this summer. I am now seeing them along roadsides in PA and also just recently in MD.
Apparently these are insect trappers to help identify the spread of a new beetle that is proving deadly to all ash trees. There are 4-5 states that now have quarantines on ash wood due to the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer - See Link.
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/emeraldashborer/

[mudhead]

It is a big deal. Was reading today, illegal to transport wood in White Mountain NF, origin other than ME or NH.

[johnnybgood]

Seen a few at campgrounds in SNP this summer .
The Emerald Ash Borer is the reason , a non-native beetle from Asia feeds on Ash trees.

The park has a rather significant number of Ash trees and has been actively engaged in gathering evidence using those insect trappers.

[Hoop Time]

In Pa. too ... all the state parks have an advisory about bringing firewood from outside the local area.

[Rocket Jones]

Prince William Forest Park in Northern Virginia has the same restriction.

They also don't allow hammocks. Nothing hanging from trees.

[emerald]

Before anyone here gets the wrong idea, I want everyone to know I had nothing do with it.

[johnnybgood]

Before anyone here gets the wrong idea, I want everyone to know I had nothing do with it.

First you must prove that your middle name isn't Ash and your last name isn't Borer.

[JoshStover]

We have a really bad problem with the emerald ash borer here in WV. Fayette county has been hit really hard but they talk like the have a solution. Just about every other tree has those purple bug traps and a few of them are lime green. One of the rangers told me that the beetle came from Asia in shipping pallets, dont know if that is really how they got here but I guess it could be...

[emerald]

For the lastest information about EAB in Pennsylvania, click on the link provided by Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/agriculture/cwp/view.asp?a=3&Q=144707

[ShoelessWanderer]

So recently I was camping at a state park in southwestern VA. Saw a blue one...wonder if it traps the same kind of insect? Or different color for different insect?

[johnnybgood]

So recently I was camping at a state park in southwestern VA. Saw a blue one...wonder if it traps the same kind of insect? Or different color for different insect?

If that state park has Ash trees , then Im sure it's the same beetle.
Just curious, what state park was it ?

[emerald]

EAB has also been found in Virginia. I've heard of EAB traps of other colors.

emerald ash borer
http://www.emeraldashborer.info/

[k-n]

i was wondering where all those ash holes came from

[Think Spring]

I've seen those same "purple boxes" in southwestern Ohio and southeastern Indiana as well. Those same restrictions mentioned for northeastern parts of the country are in place here as well. Indeed, this EAB IS a very big deal and we need to stop it if possible.

[emerald]

Makes me wonder what natural controls on EAB exist in Asia as I'm reminded similiarities between Asia's and North America's biota are a double-edged sword.

[Pedaling Fool]

Makes me wonder what natural controls on EAB exist in Asia as I'm reminded similiarities between Asia's and North America's flora are a double-edged sword.

Never heard of that, but it reminds me of something I was reading on Magnolia Trees. During the Ice Age, glaciers destroyed many ancient European forests, but not those in Asia or the Americas, resulting in plants that have wide distributions, like the magnolia, which is commonly found in China, Japan, North America, and South America.

Just wondering if that's a factor in the similarities?

Also, some neat info on this tree. It is one of oldest plant species, dating back further than bees, back then they depended on beetles for pollination - appearently that's why the carpels of the flower are very sturdy; they are big. I have a Magnolia and when it drops flowers they don't blow away like any other flower - there's actually a little thump when they hit.




.

[Rocket Jones]

Never heard of that, but it reminds me of something I was reading on Magnolia Trees. During the Ice Age, glaciers destroyed many ancient European forests, but not those in Asia or the Americas, resulting in plants that have wide distributions, like the magnolia, which is commonly found in China, Japan, North America, and South America.

Just wondering if that's a factor in the similarities?

Also, some neat info on this tree. It is one of oldest plant species, dating back further than bees, back then they depended on beetles for pollination - appearently that's why the carpels of the flower are very sturdy; they are big. I have a Magnolia and when it drops flowers they don't blow away like any other flower - there's actually a little thump when they hit.
.

LOL I hate magnolias. Their leaves don't decompose when they fall, because they're so leathery, and so heavy they don't blow away. A single leaf will kill the grass beneath.

They're pretty though.

[Pedaling Fool]

Those leathery leaves are great for placing on top of my compost pile, traps moisture in and keeps the pile burning.

BTW, I'm systematiclly killing off my grass (digging it up and throw it in the compost), sick of it, changing the landscape to a more natural setting.

[emerald]

During the Ice Age, glaciers destroyed many ancient European forests, but not those in Asia or the Americas ...

Pollen evidence demonstrates Europe's woody flora was more diverse prior to the last continental glaciation. Some elements were forever lost and only the most hardy survived because the Alps and other ranges blocked access to refugia. In North America natural migration corridors and refugia could be exploited until conditions moderated and plant populations followed retreating glaciers northward.

What I meant by my double-edged sword comment was since conditions are similar in China and Appalachia, international trade and travel has the potential to bring about unintentional introductions of exotic species. Native species sometimes are not equipped to compete with exotic species or natural predators or diseases to keep exotics in check may not exist in a new location. When it's understood what keeps exotics in check in their native ranges, sometimes solutions can be effected to mitigate damage where exotics are released and become established but cannot be eradicated.

Biological diversity is a good thing and we need to retain as much of it as possible because it cannot be known how a particular element may be put to use at some later time. What may yet restore the American chestnut as a viable canopy species in Appalachia was the availability of Chinese chestnut genetic material, knowledge and time sufficient to effect a solution.

[emerald]

I'm systematically killing off my grass (digging it up and throwing it in the compost), sick of it, changing the landscape to a more natural setting.

Same here. I intend to eliminate at least half of the area in grass when I bought my home. The more I think about how much time and expense is devoted to maintaining turf and what I could do instead, the more it motivates me to do something else.

I have often posted on landscaping incorporating native plants. It is a most appropriate topic to discuss here where it is apt to reach a receptive audience. We should gather resources, post them where they might be easily accessed and initiate discussions on the subject where appropriate whenever possible.