Ash borer strikes again: Bug spotted in south suburb

The ongoing fight against the dreaded emerald ash borer beetle has spread to the southern suburbs.

State officials say the tree-killing beetle has been spotted in Geneva and now Hazel Crest.

"The find in Kane County was in the general location of the first infestation, which was west of St. Charles," said Jeff Squibb, a spokesman for Illinois Department of Agriculture.

But when it came to the Hazel Crest discovery, Squibb said, "that detection is miles away from any other find in Illinois."

The emerald ash borer is a small, metallic green bug whose larvae feast on the trunks of ash trees, cutting off their ability to transport nutrients and causing the trees to die. So far, the borer is blamed for the loss of about 25 million ash trees in North America, officials said.

Previously, the bugs have been found in unincorporated Kane County; Evanston, Winnetka and Wilmette in Cook County; Carol Stream and Glendale Heights in DuPage County and Peru in LaSalle County.

State officials now say the beetles have been found in public and private ash trees in Geneva, northeast of the intersection of Randall Road and Route 38.

A survey of the Hazel Crest area found the beetle in six public trees in the eastern section of a 53-acre wooded near 170th Street and California Avenue.

"There certainly is a possibility (the beetle's) also in other areas," Squibb said.

State officials are continuing to survey ash trees throughout northeastern Illinois in effort to find and quarantine more ash beetles.

Edith Makra, community trees advocate for Morton Arboretum in Lisle, said it's an important time to find new infestations because it's when the larvae are most present and easiest to see after chipping away the bark.

"This is quite a busy time for determining how broadly the known infestations have spread," she said.