Will tiny wasps help to control Emerald Ash Borer?

Tetrastichus planipennisi

State and federal officials will be releasing small stingless wasps at Mount Hosmer City Park in Lansing this week in a program aimed at the biocontrol of the Emerald Ash Borer.

Following testing and research, one or more parasitic wasp species are being released in states where EAB has been detected. Nearly two months ago this biocontrol effort began in Fairfield, where two species of Asian parasitic wasps were released to seek and destroy EAB.   Tetrastichus planipennisi female wasps, which are about the size of a grain of rice, lay eggs inside EAB larvae, terminating their development into adult beetles. Oobius agrili female wasps, which are the size of a gnat, lay eggs inside EAB eggs, parasitizing them before given the opportunity to hatch. Both species are harmless to people.

Emerald Ash Borers have been found in 35 counties in Iowa—including Winneshiek County.