By Barbara Morris
Another Earth Day has come and gone. Environmental conditions on our planet should interest every one of us all year long. We recently were blessed with some much needed rain, although not enough to correct the drought conditions in the northeast, but at least it’s a good start.
In the circles of the Parks Department, volunteers and other nature lovers, we were told that the desperate problems trying to eradicate the Asian Longhorned Beetle continue. This jet-black beetle that looks as if it were splashed with white paint is about 1-inch in length and has long, black antennas striped with white.
We are asking everyone to join the Asian Longhorned Beetle posse. Play tree doctor. Examine as many trees as possible, looking for a perfectly round hole, a little smaller than a dime. If there is sawdust from this devilish critter, it will not be in the form of dust but rather in shreds, similar in appearance to cigarette tobacco. That little round opening is the exit hole of the beetle that has formed from the grub (the size of a human adult’s small finger), that has chewed up enough of the inside of that tree to kill it. It may not appear to be dead, but once the beetle has done its dirty work, there is no saving that tree — it must come down and be professionally destroyed. As members of the Asian Longhorned Beetle posse, we are being asked to:
1. Capture any of these nasty creatures we can find, alive, if possible, in a jar with a lid.
2. Call the Department of Agriculture at 1-877-STOP-ALB and tell them about your capture of the bug and any suspicious tree holes you may have found.
3. Please give them permission to examine the suspect tree on your property or elsewhere.
4. If the tree proves to be infested, please give them permission to remove it. That is the only way this devastating pest can be eradicated.
The tree then will be removed, chipped and the chips burned.
It is sad to see any tree destroyed because trees serve the earth and humanity by helping to clean the air, giving shade to mollify summer’s heat, helping to prevent erosion and giving us wood for an endless number of products and projects. Starting Monday, April 29, the people from the Asian Longhorned Beetle/Project began an effort to inject 125,000 trees in the infected area with a product that will protect each of those trees from being infested.
Mayor Bloomberg has even announced that a tree examination instrument, rather like a stethoscope I suspect, is being introduced into the project. During the examination of the tree, when this instrument is used, the chewing of the grub becomes audible. Isn’t science wonderful? Of course, with every scientific advance there is some other element that challenges it.
As many trees as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the N.Y. State Forestry, the N.Y.C. Department of Parks and Recreation and others are trying to save, there are people among us who have so little respect for the law, or trees, that they will deliberately damage and destroy them. Please, if you see anyone performing such an act, call the Parks Department at 1-800-201-PARK or the Police Department. It is a crime. We will certainly appreciate any help you will be able to give in this crisis situation.
All too often we take things in nature for granted. On a recent WNYC “Living On Earth” program, they told of devastating problems caused by illegal logging of trees in an area around El Rosario, Mexico. This is the traditional home of millions of Monarch butterflies — those beautiful orange and black butterflies that help pollinate our flowers and delight our hearts with their fragile wings every summer. They stay with us during the warm months and then migrate in majestic clouds back home to cluster together in the trees of El Rosario for protection against their enemy, the cold, wintry weather.
The master of ceremonies for the program told us what a very sad sight it was when a cold snap hit the deforested area where the Monarch butterflies had no protection. He said that as he walked, the dead Monarch butterflies were knee deep. Let’s all try to help save the beautiful gifts we have been given by nature.
