Wanted: wasp watchers, and they won’t sting, really

“You want to find invasive species as early as possible,’’ said Jennifer Forman Orth, the state plant pest survey coordinator at the department. “These wasps are another early detection tool.’’

The strategy is known in scientific circles as “biosurveillance.’’ As the wasps are found, she said, “the hope is we don’t find any emerald ash borer.’’

Early detection is key: The Asian longhorned beetle wreaked havoc for 10 years before it was discovered, she said. State officials blame that insect for the loss of more than 29,000 maples, elms, sycamores, birches, and other trees. They hope to save the ash from such an end.

The emerald ash borer was first spotted in Michigan in 2002, and has been spreading across the country ever since, destroying trees along the way.

Sightings of this green wood-boring beetle have been reported in New York, only 25 miles away from Massachusetts, Forman Orth said.

The beetles are small (several can fit on a penny) and hard to detect. But if anything can track it down, Cerceris wasps can. “They’re really good at catching the beetles,’’ she said.

“These wasps are nonstinging,’’ said Forman Orth. “You can totally handle them - they’re completely harmless.’’

Environmental officials are turning to the public for help through a “wasp watcher’’ initiative first launched in Maine that has since evolved into a multistate effort.

Volunteers are needed to help locate new Cerceris colonies and “adopt’’ sites to monitor for nests and collect beetles, if any show up. For more information on how to help, contact Jennifer Forman Orth at jennifer.forman-orth@state.ma.us or 617-626-1735.

E-mail Emily Sweeney at esweeney@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @emilysweeney.