Tree-eating beetle gains ground in U.S. West, raising concerns

Clarkdale, Ariz. • Matt Johnson treks along an Arizona riverbank and picks out a patch of yellow-tinged tamarisks. He sweeps a cloth net across the trees, hoping to scoop up beetles that munch on their evergreen-like leaves.He counts spiders, ants and leafhoppers among the catch and few beetles or their larvae."Their numbers are really low," the Northern Arizona University researcher said.That the tiny beetles brought to the U.S. from Asia in an experiment to devour invasive, water-sucking