The emerald ash borer, which feeds on the leaves and wood of ash trees, was found recently by a homeowner in a rural subdivision near Lily Lake, about 40 miles west of Chicago in central Kane County.

The ash borer is blamed for the loss of nearly 20 million trees in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and neighboring Ontario since it was first found near Detroit in 2002. The pest is believed to have found its way from China to the United States in shipping crates, possibly as long as 15 years ago.

State officials plan to conduct a survey in the next few weeks to try to determine whether the bug has spread beyond the subdivision where it was found and to declare it a nuisance, which would allow the state to destroy infested ash trees.

While insecticide can control the pest in smaller settings, the only way to eradicate the ash borer in forests is to destroy infested trees. Illinois forests contain an estimated 178 million ash trees.