Windell, Keith . 2007. Determining How Much Weight Emerald Ash Borers Can Carry in Flight. 0734 2815. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Technology and Development Program. 49 p.
The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), an exotic beetle from Asia, is a recently introduced insect pest. Tiny transponders have been used to track the spread of other introduced insects, but the emerald ash borer is much smaller, weighing just 50 milligrams or so. Female emerald ash borers are larger than male borers, which may be too small to carry a transponder. The heaviest weight a female emerald ash borer could carry in flight was 16 milligrams, 37 percent of her body weight. Highspeed cameras showed that the fastest female emerald ash borer flew an average of 5.4 feet per second for 72 inches with a 9.86 milligram load, 18 percent of her body weight.
Keywords: Agrilus planipennis, flight, forest health, high speed photography, insects, plant pests, tracking, transponders
These files are best for printing:
View high resolution PDF (1230 kb)
If you experience problems using the higher resolution PDF file, use the lower resolution PDF files if they are listed.
Click the icon to download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
