What is that Purple Thing Hanging in the Tree?

Driving through Northwest Illinois, you may have observed purple, triangular-shaped objects hanging in trees. This one was photographed on Scenic Bluff Rd. between Mt. Carroll and Savanna.

Is it someone's box kite gone awry? No, it hasn't been windy enough for kite-flying. Is it a hidden camera? No, nothing that diabolical.

It's a sticky trap.

The Illinois Dept. of Agriculture (IDA) officials and local cooperators are using the traps to identify where the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is. The EAB is a beetle, and is a highly invasive pest. The metallic green colored, wood-boring beetle is lethal to all species of North American Ash trees. EAB chokes ash trees to death by devouring the layer under the bark.

About 5000 sticky traps have been placed in the 50 mile buffer zone outside of last year's trapping location area. An additional 2000 traps are being placed in previously trapped areas as a partnership with municipalities, while another 200 are being placed in eleven counties considered high-risk areas in far southern Illinois.

The 2009 focus area where the IDA is placing the highest concentration of the purple traps is on the western border of Illinois along the Mississippi River, from Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties to the north, through 46 counties down to southern Illinois. To date, the EAB has been found only in the northeastern quadrant of Illinois, primarily in Cook County and the collar counties.

The traps were placed in early spring before the EAB flight season begins, which is from May through August. The traps will be removed systematically after the flight season is complete. Then the traps will be examined for the presence of EAB.

The purple sticky traps are not designed to attract EAB, and they will not bring EAB into an area that is not already infested. It will simply help officials determine if the EAB is already present in the area.

The EAB was first discovered in the U.S. in 2002, in the Detroit/Windsor, Michigan area. It was first found in Illinois in Kane County in June of 2006. It most likely hitched a ride in wooden shipping material from Asia.

The IDA asks that you become a part of the solution by not importing firewood, landscape trees, logs, timber or branches. All EAB finds in Illinois are believed to be directly related to importation of ash tree materials from infested areas. If you have any ash trees on your property, you can check them for the following symptoms:

- Distinct D-shaped exit holes in the bark;

- S-shaped tunnels on the surface under the bark;

- Sprout growth at the base of the tree;

- Unusual activity by woodpeckers;

- Die-back on the top third of the tree;

- Vertical splits in the bark.

If your ash tree has 2 or more of these symptoms, contact a local tree expert or your local county extension office. You may also report the EAB signs by sending digital photos to agr.eab@illinois.gov, and be sure to include your contact information.

If you need help in identifying an ash tree, go to www.emeraldashborer.info.

If you have any questions or concerns about the EAB trapping program, contact the IDA at 1-800-641-3934, or visit their web site at www.IllinoisEAB.com.

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