BARTON COUNTY — The elm leaf beetle, which has recently made a reappearance in Barton County, is a relatively harmless beetle that may cause the leaves from the tree to drop, but should not cause permanent harm to a healthy tree, according to Jim Strine, Kansas Forest Ranger.

He said the beetle primarily attacks Siberian Elm trees as known as the Chinese Elm. "The population of beetles runs in cycles," he said. "It’s a nuisance, but it will not kill the tree.

"It’s not normally worth the expense to spray," Strine said. "Normally I tell people there will be no permanent damage."

The elm leaf beetle is caused by the larvae feeding on the lower leaf surfaces. When the leaf is stripped of the protective surface, the leaves dry out, turn brown and drop.

"The tree should come back," said Strine. If, however, you do opt to treat it, the best treatment is a systemic insectcide that is mixed in water and sprayed on the surface above the roots, he said.

Strine added that the life span of the Siberian Elm in about 70 years, and that there were a lot of them planted in this area in the 1930s and 1940s. He said that if the tree is in poor health or near the end of its natural life, that would be an exception.