Quarantine expands into a section of the East Fork Wildlife Area
Columbus, OH (Jul. 10, 2017) – The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) today announced the addition of 576 acres of the East Fork Wildlife Area to the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) quarantine zone in Clermont County. The addition increases the total square miles regulated for the beetle to 62 square miles, up from 61 square miles. The movement of hardwood logs, firewood, stumps, roots and branches within these regulated areas is prohibited.
The quarantine expansion is the result of newly discovered infested trees found in late 2016 within the Williamsburg Township portion of the East Fork Wildlife Area, south of Clover Road. ODA and USDA APHIS tree inspection crews surveyed trees in the area, and infested and high-risk tree removals are occurring as part of the ALB eradication effort. A map of the regulated area can be found here.
East Fork Wildlife Area consists of 2,705 acres that are managed by the ODNR Division of Wildlife for public hunting and fishing in southwestern Ohio. It is unlawful for any person to remove wood from a wildlife area without first obtaining approval.
Adult ALBs are large, shiny black insects measuring 1 to 1 ½ inches long, not including antennae, with random white spots. Their white-banded antennae can be as long as the body itself on females and almost twice the body length on males.
Signs of infestation include perfectly round exit holes (about 3/8 to 1/2 inch in diameter) made by adult beetles when they emerge from trees; pockmarks on tree trunks and branches where female beetles deposit eggs; frass (wood shavings and saw dust) produced by larvae feeding and tunneling; early fall coloration of leaves or dead branches; and running sap produced by the tree at the egg laying sites or in response to larval tunneling. The beetle will infest various common trees in Ohio, including all species of maple, buckeye, willow and elm.
To report signs or symptoms of ALB, call the Ohio ALB Eradication Program Office at 513-381-7180 or report online at asianlonghornedbeetle.com.
