LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- An invasive beetle known for destroying ash trees has been discovered in three more Arkansas counties.
The Arkansas State Plant Board said Tuesday that the emerald ash borer has been discovered in Garland, Montgomery, and Pike counties in southwest Arkansas. The beetle has now been confirmed in 17 Arkansas counties and the board has established a quarantine in those counties and 16 counties adjacent to them that prohibits the movement of ash items including nursery stock and firewood in hopes of preventing the spread of the beetle.
The quarantine includes counties in northeastern and southwestern Arkansas. It has also been found in Delaware County in northeast Oklahoma, bordering northwest Arkansas.
The emerald ash borer is native to Asia and feeds on and kills ash trees.
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