It's Not a Kite!

While driving to the cabin on Friday afternoon, I noticed a few of these purple traps hanging in the trees. After a family debate about the shape (we all settled on triangular-prism-shaped, and yes, some family members are math geeks), and after debating the purpose (we guessed emerald ash borers, gypsy moths, or tentworms), I decided to take a photograph today and do some research.

It turns out these are, in fact, emerald ash borer traps.

The emerald ash borer was discovered in southern Michigan in 2002, and since then, it has killed more than 30 million ash trees there. So far, the borer has been found in a dozen states and Canada, threatening millions more ash trees.

For more information on the emerald ash borer, where it's located, and what's being done to stop it, click here.  I highly recommend clicking on the green map in the center of the page. There's great state/region-specific information listed!

And here's a good look at the fully grown emerald ash borer. I think it looks like a metallic grasshopper. By this stage, though, the ash borer just eats the leaves. It's in its larva stage where the borer does the most damage.