Emerald Ash Borers -- where are they now?

Click to enlarge. Red marks indicate positive sightings.

Update: The emerald ash borer has been found in Ozaukee County, in a private woodlot in the village of Newburg, when forest health specialists responded to a report of dying ash trees. The surprise is not that the tree-killing beetle has come to Wisconsin -- state experts have been expecting it since 2004 -- but rather that it was found so far north (57 miles from North Bay). Expectations were that it would migrate here from Illinois, coming first to our neck of the woods in southeastern Wisconsin. Here's the press release detailing what the Department of Agriculture, Trade and consumer Protection and the Department of Natural Resources had to say about it.

The picture at right shows the S-shaped galleries or tunnels made by EAB larvae feeding under the bark of the ash tree. Their feeding cuts off the flow of water and nutrients within the tree. The tree gradually dies within 2-4 years. Click here for more pictures of the Ozaukee infestation.

Original story: As we wait for a hastily called news conference on the emerald ash borer from the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the Department of Natural Resources (scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Riveredge Nature Center in Ozaukee County), here's a map from Wisconsin's Emerald Ash Borer Resource website, showing where the bug has been spotted so far.

Last updated on Aug. 1, there appear to be no infestations in Wisconsin.

But, as the Journal-Sentinel pointed out this morning, why would they be holding an emergency press conference today to tell us that?

Our April story about North Bay's fears of the ash borer is HERE.