What is that Purple Box?

There it was, dangling over the roadway from a tree along the side of the road in a small community in upstate New York. A large three-sided purple box tethered high up in the tree by a long yellow rope. It had suddenly appeared there. There was no sign explaining what it was and no wording that the naked eye could see from our human perch on the asphalt down below.

Everyone in town began talking about the purple box. All had the same question: What is that?

It turns out that was a trap installed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to try and capture any lurking Emerald Ash Borer. The invasive green beetles had been discovered in other parts of the state and are responsible for killing more than 900 million ash trees across the state, or about 7% of the trees, and counting. The state wanted to determine if the invasion was spreading.

In fact, there were 6,400 traps strung up around the state, which had many others asking the same question: What is that?

As people discovered what these strange-shaped boxes were and why they were there, they learned about the destructive impact the beetles are having on New York forests and beyond, and the important ways to help prevent the infestation from spreading, like not moving firewood more than 50 miles from its source.

So where am I going with this? I won