Emerald Ash Borer Spreads to Delta County

An invasive insect has spread to a part of the U.P. where it had never been found until now.

The emerald ash borer has turned up in Delta County for the first time.

The U.S. Forest Service found an infestation along U.S.-2, near Garden Corners.

Officials from the state Department of Agriculture are reviewing the situation, and they’re considering the possibility of a quarantine.

This year there’ve also been U.P. infestations in Straits State Park, in Mackinac County; and in Houghton County, in a cemetery near Laurium.

The emerald ash borer is a green beetle native to Asia.

It kills ash trees by burying itself in the bark.

It’s responsible for killing or damaging tens of millions of trees in 9 U.S. states and in Canada.