A tiny but destructive pest has shown up in Portland after lurking in towns around the city proper since at least 2022: the emerald ash borer.

An iridescent green beetle, the emerald ash borer wreaks havoc on ash trees, as WW reported last month. Females lay their eggs in the bark crannies on ash trees. The larvae hatch and eat the xylem and phloem, structures that carry water and nutrients, eventually killing the tree.

The Oregon Department of Forestry discovered an emerald ash borer in tree in the parking lot at the David Douglas Aquatics Center in the Hazelwood neighborhood deep in Northeast Portland. Peter Van Oss, a private arborist with Teragan & Associates, had noticed a sickly ash there and suspected that it might be infested with the voracious bug.

Native to eastern Northern

See Full Page