Minnesota’s Wasp Initiative Battles Emerald Ash Borer Invasion

UNDATED (WJON News) -- A group of state and federal agencies is wrapping up an effort this month to slow the spread of emerald ash borer in the Chippewa National Forest.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Forest Service are implementing what's called the "parasitoid wasp program".

The agencies release three species of non-stinging wasps to target EAB at different life stages.

Since it began in 2010, the program has expanded to 55 release sites in EAB-infested areas in Minnesota. The wasps are the only biological control for EAB used in the forest landscape.

This year, the agencies released 5,424 wasps across 200 acres of the Chippewa National Forest. Nearly 8,500 wasps have been released over the last two summers.

EAB was first discovered in 2009. There are now 59 Minnesota counties known to have emerald ash borer infestations.

The invasive insects kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that carries nutrients up and down the trunk.