unknown on Jun 11, 2023

Originally reported as Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)

Submitter does not have a specimen

Description of specimen

A shiny bright green beetle landed on my back after I had hit a few branches on a shade tree in a back lawn. The bug fell to the ground and myself and the two people I were with exclaimed how bright and green the beetle was. It was small, no bigger than a fingernail, but had a fluorescent green shell. I had heard about the this specific ash borer last year when it was first discovered in Oregon and looked online to see if photos matched the bug we had seen and it was almost identical. I tried to take a photo but I believed it crawled into the grass and at that point was lost to us.

Commentary

Thank you for your report! There are a number of iridescent green look-alike beetles in Oregon that are not pests. I am attaching a link to the ODA EAB webpage with some photos of Oregon insects that could be mistaken for EAB

https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/IPPM/SurveyTreatment/Documents/EABLookAlikes.pdf

EAB only attacks ash trees and some closely related trees. Is your tree an ash?

Thanks for being on the lookout!

Tom Valente
June 12, 2023, 1:55 a.m.