The emerald ash borer, along with the Asian longhorned beetle, is an invasive pest that kill trees in Ontario and Quebec, as well as in many U.S. states. (Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wikimedia Commons)
The spread of the emerald ash borer and the Asian longhorned beetle has been helped thanks to fire. Each species is able to hide among pieces of firewood to travel to new habitats.
A new study uses mathematical modelling to show that public education coupled with a subsidy to decrease the cost of local firewood could be an effective approach to stop both insects from spreading.
Original research paper published in the journal PLOS One on April 15, 2014.
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