Reported by: Shannon KettlerWeb produced by: Kerry DukeThe purple boxes that you may have noticed hanging in trees in Northern Kentucky are early warning system against an invasion of a tree-killing insect.
Staff members with the Kentucky State Entomologist Office have been placing the boxes in trees to detect emerald ash borers. The boxes are traps that are baited with an oily substance to attract the emerald tree borer that's been found in Greater Cincinnati.
Researchers are concerned the insect may make its way across the river into Northern Kentucky.
The traps, which will be up until August, will serve to alert researchers to the presence of the insects.
The insects which came Asia have killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana as it has spread south over the past six years. The insects are spread largely as a result of people hauling infested firewood to non-infested regions.
