Emerald ash borer flight season changed in Vermont

It was originally thought the emerald ash borer was on the move in Vermont in May, but that thinking has changed.

Judy Rosovsky, the Vermont state entomologist, says June 1 marks the start of flight season for the beetle.

The emerald ash borer is choking trees across Vermont by burrowing in the bark and cutting the tree off from nutrients.

It has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America.

It was first found in Vermont in 2018.

While May 1 was the date used in Vermont to mark flight season, Rosovsky says data shows June 1 is more accurate.

"Because we have these cool springs and they just haven't started to emerge before the first of June," said Rosovsky. "We are asking people not to move [ash] wood or wood products during the flight season, which is June 1 to October 1."