The Missouri Department of Agriculture has expanded the quarantine to protect trees from the emerald ash borer insect, the department announced in a release Tuesday.

The emerald ash borer is a green beetle that is invasive against types of hardwood trees. The quarantine limits the movement of certain wood products from the counties most likely to have the borer. Counties affected by the quarantine include: Wayne, Carter, Iron, Madison, Reynolds and Shannon counties in Southeast Missouri, and Clay and Platte counties near Kansas City. Affected products include any part of an ash tree, ash nursery stock and all hardwood firewood.

For more information about the emerald ash borer, plant and pest quarantines and the department's other programs, visit mda.mo.gov.