Scientists plan to release hundreds of the wasps this summer in areas near Lansing and Jackson, Mich.

The wasps are stingerless and the size of a sesame seed. They lay eggs inside immature ash borers and in ash borer eggs. Baby wasps emerge from their hosts three weeks later, fly off and repeat the cycle.

Lean Bauer, a research entomologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, says the wasps pose no threat to humans or animals and have been found to attack emerald ash borers almost exclusively. ?EUR??,,????'??They zero in on emerald ash borer and only if the borer is in ash trees ?EUR??,,????'??? These guys are pretty obsessed with ash.’’

Before any wasps leave the quarantined area at Michigan State University, the government is soliciting public input on the plan.

This concept, called biological control, can help reduce the use of toxic pesticides, creating a more desirable balance in the environment. It is nothing new, as scientists for decades have used parasitic wasps, beetles and other organisms to help control such invasive pests as the cereal leaf beetle, alfalfa weevil, gypsy moth and purple loosestrife.

The vedalia beetle saved California’s citrus crop in the late 1800s, an egg parasite saved eucalyptus trees from the eucalyptus long-horn beetle and a leaf-munching beetle is now being used to contain the invasive purple loosestrife plant.

However, there are skeptics of the plan.

?EUR??,,????'??Bringing in an exotic species to control an invasive species can create a lot of problems,’’ said James Dunn, an entomologist who teaches biology at Grand Valley State University. ?EUR??,,????'??There is no guarantee they will kill just the ash borer; that’s the danger.’’