Spring is right around the corner, and with it will come new finds of invasive pests in areas across California. Many different pests will emerge from their winter “homes” or overwintering states as the weather gets warmer and we will learn what we’re up against this year. If that makes it sound like a battle, that’s because it is—the battle to protect, as best we can, California and it resources from the impacts of invasive pests.
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HungryPests BlogMarch 24th, 2010 |
 Author: Helene Wright, California State Plant Health Director, USDA-APHIS
| Tags: California, invasive pest, Light brown apple moth | Category: Agriculture Quarantine, Invasive Pests, Pest Management | 2 comments In our efforts to keep our readers informed of news related to invasive pests, I’d like to share some news about the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM). The United States Department of Agriculture today published its draft response to two petitions requesting that LBAM be reclassified as a non-actionable pest. You can read the draft response and other information on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) web site, or visit the Federal Register web site (search on “LBAM”) to read about the response and how to submit your comments. March 15th, 2010 |
Author: Larry Hawkins, Legislative & Public Affairs Officer, USDA-APHIS | Tags: LBAM Delisting, Light brown apple moth | Category: Invasive Pests | Leave a comment There are some basic questions that must be answered to determine the probable effectiveness of the Sterile Insect Technique with a given species and in a given area before it is implemented. Those questions include:
January 6th, 2010 |
Author: Dr. Gregory Simmons, Light Brown Apple Moth Coordinator, USDA | Tags: Light brown apple moth, Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) | Category: Pest Management | Leave a comment Now that you’ve read a little about the Sterile Insect Technique itself, you may be wondering how it works. How does one rear and release thousands, or even millions, of sterile insects? What makes them sterile? How do we know the insects are doing their job? Let’s start from the beginning. The Sterile Insect Technique involves three basic stages: mass rearing of the insect pest; sterilization of reared insects; and release of sterilized insects into infested areas. The Moss Landing facility has been set up to rear enough light brown apple moths to determine the best method of implementing the SIT: the best method to rear the moths, to evaluate them and see how the sterilized insects are performing. December 8th, 2009 |
Author: Dr. Gregory Simmons, Light Brown Apple Moth Coordinator, USDA | Tags: Light brown apple moth, Moss Landing, Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) | Category: Pest Management | 2 comments We recently received final LBAM counts for the first half of 2009 and compared the number of confirmed findings so far this year with counts at the halfway point last year. The numbers are astonishing, even to those of us who have been tracking the pest for some time now. From May 2008 to May 2009, the number of square miles where LBAM is found in California has nearly doubled—from 509 square miles to 980 square miles. The number of square miles in California under quarantine grew from 1,860 square miles in May 2008 to 2,922 square miles in May 2009, an increase of more than 1,000 square miles. July 23rd, 2009 |
Author: Helene Wright, California State Plant Health Director, USDA - APHIS | Tags: Light brown apple moth | Category: Invasive Pests | 2 comments |
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