Entomology Today reported the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) allegedly has spread to the white fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus), according to a research from Don Cipollini, Ph.D., of Wright State University.

Cipollini, who has studied EAB for 10 years, caught sight of EABs attacking a white fringetree in August.

“I walked up to the tree, saw the hole right in front of my eyes and said, ‘Oh my gosh, there it is,” he said.“(EAB) may have a wider host range than we ever thought in the first place, or it is adapting to utilize new hosts. This biological invasion is really something to worry about. It’s having drastic ecological and economic consequence, and you can’t always predict what’s going to happen.”

A relative to the ash tree, white fringetree is a deciduous shrub or small tree that can grow up to 30 feet tall. It grows wild from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Oklahoma and Texas.

For more on this story, visit EntomologyToday.org.