A destructive and invasive breed of insect growing at an alarming rate is starting to worry the people of New Jersey.

The emerald ash borer, a green jewel colored beetle measuring half an inch long and one eighth inch wide, is popularly known for parasitically attacking and destroying ash trees by having its larvae penetrate into the bark of the tree, cutting off the circulation of nutrients along its developmental process.

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On Monday, July 6, New Jersey's Department of Agriculture reported that the insect has been sighted in three of its counties among which are Mercer, Somerset and Burlington. Within these counties, the bugs were found in Westampton, Ewing, West Windsor, Hillsborough and Bridgewater, according to Philly Voice.

The creature is said to spread very fast prompting the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) to implant precautionary measures as soon as possible.

Douglas Fisher, New Jersey's Secretary of Agriculture, has especially urged residents to set up plans and act promptly regarding the issue at hand, Empire State Tribune has learned.

In Beaconsfield, people are being instructed to treat ash trees on their properties once again after it was confirmed last week that the emerald ash borer has already made its way in the West Island Suburb, Montreal Gazette reported.

The beetle was detected 10 days ago through a bait trap installed by the city to track the emerald ash borers' activities, city director General Patrice Boileau said.

Two borers were spotted in one of the traps installed by the city on Andover Rd. in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, north of Highway 20 and east of St-Charles Blvd., Boileau stated. He added that the beetles were confirmed to be emerald ash borers on July 1.

"We are really at the beginning of things," Boileau said. "We didn't find an infested tree - only bugs in one of our traps."

Since the emerald ash borers' discovery in 2014, tens of millions of ash trees had been lost in New Jersey.

As part of control measures taken up against the insects, authorities have set a federal quarantine on firewood within the state and residents are encouraged to learn how to protect ash trees and their proper disposal.

Furthermore, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture is said to have already set up traps for the emerald ash borers across 87 towns.

TagsAsh Tree, pests, Science, New Jersey Beetles, Insects