Maine to hang purple traps to find invasive insect
AUGUSTA, Maine—Maine forestry officials are telling people who love to walk in the state's woods not to be alarmed this summer if they come across purple boxes hanging from trees.
The Maine Forest Service said Thursday it is hanging more than 900 of the boxes across the state to trap emerald ash borers, invasive insects from Asia that can devastate local tree populations.
The bugs are attracted to the color and scent of the trap.
Maine is involved in a national project designed to monitor the progress of the insect, which has destroyed millions of acres of trees in 15 other states and Canadian provinces.
So far they have not been found in Maine.
Officials tell the Kennebec Journal ( http://bit.ly/Kk13Wu) that detecting the bug early is the key to controlling it.
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Information from: Kennebec Journal, http://www.kjonline.com/
