Ash borer pesticide has birders concernedby Stephanie Hemphill,
Minnesota Public Radio St. Paul, Minn. — The discovery of the
emerald ash borer in St. Paul has not only gotten tree lovers
concerned about their trees, it's also prompting bird lovers to
worry about what the chemicals used to treat the trees might do
to their favorite animals. The standard treatment, Imidacloprid,
has generated controversy in Europe because researchers found it
changes the behavior of honeybees. It may not kill them, but it
can interfere with the way they do their work. And honeybees are
struggling to survive. The chemical, sold under several brand
names including Merit and Admire, is injected into the soil, and
the tree absorbs it. Imidacloprid is a relative of nicotine, and
it kills insects -- including the larvae of the emerald ash
borer -- by disrupting their nervous systems. Vera Krischik, an
entomologist at the University of Minnesota, studies what
Imidacloprid does to non-target insects. Her research has
focused on pollin