Pest-Killing Wasps to Come to The Aid of Northern Maine Forests

MADAWASKA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Forest Service is going to deploy wasps to help beat back an invasive pest species that can do damage to trees in the state.

The service says the tiny, non-stinging wasps will be released on Thursday to help control the emerald ash borer infestation in the state. It says the wasps feed in or on the borers by attacking their larvae under the bark of trees and parasitizing eggs on the surface of bark.

The wasps will be released in Aroostook County in far northern Maine. The forest service says three species of wasps are being used in the pest control effort.

The borer was located in Aroostook and York counties, at opposite ends of the very forested state, in 2018.