In the future, male emerald ash borers that sidle up next to a female could be in for a shock of 4,000 volts.
International researchers created a female ash borer body decoy that has tested successfully in enticing males to land upon it and attempt to mate. Once the males land on the body decoy, they are killed by high-voltage current.
The method could, the researchers hope, curtail the emerald ash borer population and, thus, the destruction of millions of native ash trees in the United States.
"Our new decoy and electrocution process may be useful in managing what the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service claims to be the most destructive forest pest ever seen in North America," Michael Domingue, postdoctoral fellow in entomology at Penn State, told the Penn State news.
The team, which includes scientists from Hungary, Penn State and the USDA, is also investigating the use of decoys to attract other species, “some of which are aggressive feeders on oak trees in central Europe and might threaten North American oaks,” according to the Penn State News.
