A pain in the ash

From the Daily News:

The feds are placing 9,800 traps across the state this month to catch a small but nasty beetle that could kick New York's ash.

The emerald ash borer first surfaced in the state last June - wiping out 39 ash trees in upstate Cattaraugus County. It hasn't been seen in the state since, but the feds aren't taking any chances.

They are putting purple box traps in ash trees - the pest's prey - in 42 counties, but none in the city, said U.S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Sharon Lucik.

So far, city trees are more vulnerable to the Asian long-horned beetle, which comes in through shipping.

About 4% of city trees are ash, and there are no plans to add more.

"We do not plant ash trees anymore because of the impending threat of the emerald ash borer," said Tim Wenskus of the forestry division of the city Parks Department.

Emerald ash borers first surfaced in Michigan in 2002 and have since spread to 14 states, where they have killed tens of millions of trees.

"It's pretty much on the way to eliminating ash trees in Michigan and Ohio. We are suspicious that it may be coming into New York City environments," Carlson said.

He's relying on dozens of park workers to search city trees for any cases in the five boroughs.

"The probability of a large infestation is very low because the people who work for New York City parks know what they are looking for," he said.

Here's how to identify an ash tree.