Canada to Import Parasitic Wasps to Battle Emerald Ash Borer Infestation

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A modern parasitic cotesia wasp lays its eggs inside a caterpillar after giving it a paralyzing taste of its stinger. In this, the cotesia wasp behaves much like the Jurassic ancestors of all bees and wasps.

Albert Mans/Minden Pictures/Getty Images

[image]   By James A. Foley

To battle a type of beetle devastating to native ash trees, the Canadian government has approved the import of two types of parasitic Chinese wasps in a plan to save the country's trees.
While adult Emerald ash borers are fairly harmless, simply munching on ash trees' leaves, their larvae are detrimental to ash trees in North America, burrowing into the bark quickly enough to kill a tree within a year.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that Emerald ash borers have destroyed tens of millions of ash trees. Similarly, Canada's department of natural resources reports the Emerald ash borer has "killed millions of ash trees and continues to spread into new areas."...Continue reading...