Tree-killing ash borer makes Quebec City debut

Quebec City will cut down dozens of ash trees in its stylish Montcalm neighbourhood in a first assault against the invasive emerald ash borer, whose presence in the provincial capital wasconfirmed for the first time on Monday.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which is responsible for analyzing samples, said an ash borer had been caught in one of the traps installed in ash trees to detect the destructive beetle in early June.

Arborist Jean Lamontagne said the insects'arrival is a catastrophe, asash trees make up roughly 10 per cent of the city's leafy, verdant canopy.

He also said it was inevitable.

"We knew that they were coming, but it was surprising, because it's been confined to Montreal for the past two years," Lamontagne said.

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Montreal has been fighting the ash borer for more than two years, earmarking $18 millionlast yearto fight its spread and plant new trees.

However, Montreal and Longueuil, on Montreal's South Shore, have had to cut down between 10,000 and 15,000 trees.

"It's abominable. The trees are all dying," Lamontagne said.

Quebec City will cut down about 30 trees and inject others with a biopesticidederived from natural sources. Trees within a 300- to 500-metre radius of the infestation will also be closely monitored.

So far, only theMontcalmneighbourhood has been struck by the bug, which was found thanks to traps that had been placed in trees as part of an early detection program.

However, Lamontagne said the insect is unlikely to stay there. The city is asking residents to notify the municipality if they see ash trees dying off anywhere.

Spread through firewood

Robert Lavalle, a research scientist on forest pest management at Natural Resources Canada, said the ash borer likely hitched a ride into the city on a load of firewood.

"I think if we have emerald ash borer here in Quebec City, it's because of contaminated wood," he said.

Lamontagne agrees.

"They travel about a kilometre a year. They don't go 150 kilometres in a second."

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