Cranberry's Emerald Ash Borer

The little green bug pictured to the right is causing all sorts of havoc to the region's, and potentially the state's, ash tree population.

Pictured is the Emerald Ash Borer, a penny-sized non-native tree eater that somehow made it's way from Asia to United States five years ago. This wood-eating beetle has devastated millions of acres of ash trees in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio in that time span and now is starting to cause worries in our area.

The state has put a ban on transporting ash wood in three counties, including Butler. It started with the spotting of the bug in a tree in Cranberry, to a quick study of the impact, to declaration that the state's ash tree population could be wiped out in 5 years.

People who suspect they have seen the emerald ash borer should call the state Agriculture Department's toll-free pest hot line at 1-866-253-7189.