MAN-EATER: It appears scientists have found a new tool to lure and kill an invasive insect species that has been found on the Allegheny National Forest: lady invasive insects.

According to a press release from Penn State University, “An international team of researchers has designed decoys that mimic female emerald ash borer beetles and successfully entice male emerald ash borers to land on them in an attempt to mate, only to be electrocuted and killed by high-voltage current.

“Our new decoy and electrocution process may be useful in managing what the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service claims to be the most destructive forest pest ever seen in North America,” said Michael Domingue, postdoctoral fellow in entomology, Penn State.

“According to the Forest Service, the emerald ash borer was introduced to the United States from China in 2002. Since then, it has spread throughout 24 states and two Canadian provinces, and killed tens of millions of otherwise healthy native ash trees.

“Early detection of the pest in traps such as ours can help in coordinating management strategies to slow its spread and minimize its impact,” said Domingue.

“The researchers — including entomologists and engineers at Penn State, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Forest Research Institute in Matrafured, Hungary, and the USDA — created the decoys using a bioreplication process with nanoscale fidelity.

“Specifically, we coated a dead female beetle with a vapor of nickel, and used the ‘nickelized’ shell to fabricate two matching molds in the shape of a resting beetle,” said Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Charles Godfrey Binder professor of engineering science and mechanics, Penn State. “Pressing a structurally colored plastic sheet between the two molds while simultaneously applying heat, we cast numerous replicas or decoys. The finished bioreplicated decoys retained the surface texture of the beetle at the nanoscale.

“Additionally, we painted some decoys a metallic green.”

Researchers next pinned both 3D-printed decoys and dead female emerald ash borers on leaves in Hungary to see which males found more attractive, the press release indicated.

The findings were posted Monday in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

“The researchers said their next step will be to further improve the traps to maximize their potential as part of an early detection tool for emerald ash borers,” the press release stated.