The state of Iowa is about to unleash a biological weapon to try to control the spread of the emerald ash borer (EAB) .

A type of parasitic wasp that lays eggs in the emerald ash borer larva will be released in a stretch of woods near Fairfield later this week.

Mike Kintner, Iowa Department of Agriculture, plans to release thousands of stingless wasps at Whitham Woods near Fairfield on Thursday. The wasps, also in larva form, will be shipped from a U.S. Agriculture Department facility in Michigan.

Kintner said the emerald ash borer does not have any natural enemies in this country. The several species of parasitic wasp, native to Asia, are an enemy of the EAB in that part of the world.

Kintner said the wasp larva will come in short bundles that will be attached to trees with the EAB infection. The hope is the wasps will prey on the EAB larva before they hatch into adult borers.

Kintner said the wasps are not a “silver bullet” to stop the spread of the destructive pests but could prove useful in providing some biological control for the problems.