Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis, “EAB”) is an invasive, wood-boring beetle that has caused the loss of tens of millions of ash trees in North America, just within the past eight years. While it has not been found in New England, it has been found as close as New York and Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts and [...]
If you are in Wellesley, MA tomorrow, keep your eyes peeled for swarms of tiny but powerful (and beneficial!) flies. A team of researchers at UMass Amherst, led by Joe Elkinton, is set to release 1,000 parasitic flies (Cyzenis albicans) in Wellesley in an effort to combat the winter moth caterpillars (Operophtera brumata) currently defoliating [...]
There is a good article in the Boston Globe today summarizing the state’s work on the Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol Project. Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is one of the 141 plant species on the state’s Prohibited Plant List, and was categorized as invasive by the Massachusetts Invasive Plant Advisory Group.
Beth Suedmeyer of the Massachusetts Wetlands Restoration [...]
Last week I headed out to UMass Amherst to meet with some of the people in Cooperative Extension that participate in the Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project. While there, I got a tour of the Elkinton Lab, where they are working on a few different biological control projects that target insect pests. One of those [...]
Asian Longhorned Beetle News