The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that destroys ash trees, has been detected for the first time in Pennsylvania and a quarantine imposed for Butler, Lawrence, Allegheny and Beaver counties.

Adult beetles were found on an ash tree in Cranberry Township by U.S.Department of Agriculture surveyors, through a joint effort by federal and state agriculture departments, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Penn State Extension. The emerald ash borer has forced similar quarantines in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland and Michigan.

State and federal officials are conducting intensive surveys for the insect near the detection site. The quarantine is designed to help slow the spread of the beetle. Pennsylvania's quarantine restricts the movement from the quarantine area of ash nursery stock green lumber and any other ash material, including logs, stamps, roots and branches and all wood chips.

Due to the difficulty in distinguishing between species of hardwood firewood, all hardwood firewood — including ash, oak, maple and hickory — is considered quarantined.

Since many species of wood boring insects, including the emerald ash borer, can be spread through transport of firewood and logs, campers and homeowners are encouraged to use only locally harvested firewood, burn all of it on site, and not carry it to new locations.

The emerald ash borer is a wood-boring beetle native to China and eastern Asia. The pest likely arrived in North America hidden in wood packing materials commonly used to ship consumer and other goods. It was first detected in July 2002 in southeastern Michigan and neighboring Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The beetle has been blamed for the destruction and decline of more than 20 million ash trees in Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and Illinois.

Typically, the emerald ash borer will kill an ash tree within three years of the initial infestation. Adults are dark green, one-half inch in length and one-eighth inch wide, and fly from early May until September. Larvae spend the rest of the year hidden beneath the bark of ash trees, and emerge as adults, leaving D-shaped holes in the bark about one-eighth of an inch wide.

Contact the emerald ash borer toll-free pest hotline at 866-253-7189 for more information.

Ron Fodor is district manager of the Butler County Conservation District.