Invading Asian beetle found in Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., July 30 (UPI) -- An invading Asian beetle, the emerald ash borer, has been found in trees in southern Missouri for the first time, scientists say.

The beetles were trapped in a camp ground at Wappapello Lake near Poplar Bluff, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. They were recently identified as emerald ash borers.

The borers were first discovered near Detroit in 2002. Since then, they have devastated ash trees in Michigan and have spread through at least six states, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

"People that I talk to say losing these 50- to 60-foot-tall trees that have provided shade to their homes for decades is a little like losing a family member," said Robin Usborne of Michigan State University. "It's a very difficult thing to watch -- to see a neighborhood just transformed. But that's what happened in Detroit."

In Missouri, researchers will be surveying the Lake Wappapello area and working out a plan to contain the beetles.