DeKALB | An accidental “immigrant” may have entered the United States in a piece of wood used as packing material from Asia.

This little green bug, called the emerald ash borer, has begun to kill ash trees throughout a three-state area. Originating near Detroit, recent evidence shows the insect may have started its move into Illinois.

Since it is not native to the U.S., there really are not any natural predators, said Jeff Squibb, Illinois Department of Agriculture spokesman.

The beetle lays its eggs under the bark of the ash tree. As the larva grows into adulthood, it eats the bark and burrows under it, destroying the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients from the soil up to the top of the tree.

The tree then dies from the top down, said Brad Garrison, assistant director of the DeKalb Park District.

Infected trees may attract woodpeckers or other birds after the insect. They also can have symptoms like branch shoots growing from strange places, wilting branches and D-shaped holes in the bark, resulting from the insect burrowing out of the tree, Garrison said.

Another beetle, called the bronze birch borer, which is native to the U.S., looks very similar to the emerald ash borer.

“It does the same thing. It just has a different preference in trees,” said local arborist Dave Clanton, who recently began offering a service to actively prevent infection of trees.

The only real difference other than the insect’s taste in trees is the ash borer’s emerald color.

A tree may not show symptoms for three to five years, and ash borer populations can grow during this time.

“It’s suspected there are over 20 million trees that have been infected,” Garrison said.

Between Kane and Cook Counties, there are 130 million ash trees.

“We are hopeful that a solution will be developed,” Squibb said. “You see various claims for treatments. Nothing is guaranteed to work. As of this moment, the Department of Agriculture is not advising people to treat their ash trees because there is no guarantee the treatment will work.”

Population reduction can be done if infected trees are cut down and removed, Squibb said.

Clanton, however, disagrees with Squibb’s views.

“If you treat early enough, the trees can be saved,” Clanton said.