Ashes to Ashes: State to destroy young trees in survey for ash borer

The Illinois Department of Agriculture will sacrifice some trees this fall to save the rest from the emerald ash borer, an invasive Asian pest that has killed more than 20 million ash trees since it was first discovered in the United States five years ago. The department of agriculture is conducting a &#8220destructive bark peeling survey” throughout northeastern Illinois looking for the tiny green pest, spokesman Jeff Squibb said. The survey involves felling small young ashes on public land and systematically stripping their bark to look for signs of the bug's larvae. &#8220It's actually the larvae that causes the tree to die,” Squibb said. &#8220The adult beetle can cause damage, but the larvae tunnel under the bark and chew on the wood o