‘Devastating insect’

Dan Herms, an entomologist at Ohio State University who studies the ash borer, called it “the most devastating insect ever to invade North American forests.”

It’s already the most expensive because it has killed so many urban trees that had to be removed, disposed of and replaced, which has cost billions of dollars, he said.

Herms, who was not involved in the IUCN project, said he’s not sure the ash species will literally disappear. But he said they could become “functionally extinct,” with populations too small to play a significant role in the environment for benefits such as providing shelter and filtering water.

The Associated Press

Mike Groll The Associated Press An emerald ash borer larvae is removed from an ash tree in Saugerties, N.Y.