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Online tool aims to predict future invasive pests

AP
/
Maine Forest Service ACF via AP
In a May 2016 photo provided by the Maine Forest Service, a browntail caterpillar feeds on a plant, in Maine. The moth caterpillars have toxic hairs that cause an itchy rash in humans.

A new online tool that aims to predict future invasive insects has been developed with the help of an assistant professor of forest entomology at the University of Maine.

Angela Mech helped lead a group across the U.S. who spent the past seven years creating the i-Tree Pest Predictor. She said it uses data about tree and insect traits and how they interact to help identify future problematic invasive insects.

"So we can predict the next emerald ash borer or browntail moth before it gets here and that way be a little better prepared for it," she said.

Mech said the tool, which can be found online, is available for anyone to use.