Today in Chicago history: Asian beetle discovered in birch tree

(Sun-Times, August 6, 1999) State beetle hunter Stan Smith peeled off a strip of bark Thursday and found an Asian long-horned beetle chewing its way out of a 2-year-old birch tree in Ravenswood--Illinois' first beetle find in any birch. He was checking trees near where infested elms were found Wednesday on Wolcott, saw what looked like golden birch borer holes, then discovered the beetle. Smith's find came as Mayor Daley said he couldn't hire more people to hunt beetles ...

(Chicago Tribune, August 6, 2006) SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois agriculture officials say they were distressed by what they saw when they visited Michigan recently to witness the devastation wrought by the emerald ash borer -- a tree-killing beetle that has destroyed 15 million trees in Michigan and that's now been found in Illinois.