Tree-killing Asian beetle detected in EU for first time
The emerald ash borer, which has devastated ash forests in North America, has been detected in the European Union for the first time.
Slovakia's Agricultural Central Control and Testing Institute (UKSUP), based in Bratislava, said that 18 feared emerald ash borers were found this month in the Streda nad Bodrogom district in the east of the country.
Two adult emerald ash borers were found in June in a trap in the Beregsurany forest, near Hungary's frontier with Ukraine, Hungary's NEBIH food safety office said in a statement .
The office said the emerald ash borer was "one of the most serious pests affecting ash trees" and "has already caused significant ash tree mortality in North America and Eastern Europe."
Hungarian authorities have ordered more traps to be laid and better monitoring to assess the spread of the beetle, which can grow up to half an inch long when an adult.
NEBIH has called on the public to report any trees with suspicious symptoms.