With all the cold weather we get in the U.P. I'd have to agree that maybe in a controlled environment study-as suggested by placing the logs in St Paul and Grand Rapids-the mortality rate was higher due to that. but as Butcher says-Daytime sunshine will warm the bark up enough to avoid the sub-zero die off. Which would explain why the EAB is still spreading.
A lot of information online about it, seems like the cold does have an effect on the EAB and will slow down the spread, don't have time to post the links right now but with the wide open spaces and some winter kill I hope to never have any problem here as my grove has a lot of Ash trees in it.
I wish you luck on not getting any bugs up your way but I doubt you will go unscathed in time. It's not so much the borer itself since an adult EAB will only travel 5 to 15 miles over it's life span, it is those who really dont know or dont care who transport infected ash wood all over the place. All it takes is 1 idiot and 2 bugs to make a mess of things. In the few short years since EAB was discovered in N.E. Iowa it has spread tremendously over the state. A lot quicker than would be able to progress by natural means. For instance, here in Black Hawk county we discovered the EAB only 3 years ago. So, the county desides to cut and kill every ash tree on public land. What did the head of the county forestry division do? He designated a brush dump to pile all ash trees and then let every Tom, duck and Harry go cut the wood up for farwood with nothing but a sign at the entrance asking that please no one should move this wood to an outside county. I stood there 3 years ago and heard him say that his self at a county meeting over this subject. I have also talked to more than 6 guys who go to this brush dump and cut and haul wood more than 3 counties away. That to me is just ignorant. Some times us humans are our own worst enemies. Carp and multi flora rose come to mind also when it comes to human intervention on natural progression. But thats a whole nuther subject.
Butcher, you can have all of the rosa rugosa that is growing along the edge of my wood lot. Returns will not be accepted.
