has called the insects “the most destructive forest pest ever seen in North America,” and they have the potential to cause billions of dollars of damage if their spread continues unabated.

If approved, Spathius galinae — which has no common name and whose home range is in eastern Russia — will be the fourth species of Asian wasp to be released in the United States to try to halt the spread of the emerald ash borer, a beetle native to East Asia that was discovered in Michigan in 2002. The borer has since been found in nearly half the states and has killed tens of millions of the 8.7 billion ash trees in North America.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking approval for the intentional release of an Asianspecies of parasitic wasp in order to combat the spread of an invasive beetle wreaking havoc on North American ash trees.

A tiny insect has killed black walnut trees in several states and is headed for Missouri, which has the most in the US

A similar invasive pest that decimated the larch trees in forests around the Great Lakes is now nearly eradicated after its native predator was introduced from Europe, she said. On the other hand, a species of fly that was imported and released to prey on invasive gypsy moths has since spread and now feeds on some 140 native species of moths and butterflies, which in some cases led to the sharp decline in species such as lunar moths.

“It’s a scary thing,” McCullough said. “What you’re doing