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The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is announcing its plans for combatting the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina in 2021. "Every year, APHIS evaluates and determines the most effective options to achieve ALB eradication," said Osama El-Lissy, APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarantine Deputy Administrator. "Complete eradication of this pest from the United States remains our goal, and our strategy this year will advance our efforts to eliminate this pest from where it is infesting trees."

In 2021, the ALB program will focus on inspecting trees in quarantined areas in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina, and removing infested trees at no cost to property owners. The program will not apply insecticide treatments this year. Program officials will monitor for the beetle's presence inside and around each area, respond to calls for assistance, conduct training sessions for compliance agreement holders, and perform outreach.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently published a pair of papers that, together, provide the most detailed maps to date of how 144 common invasive plants species will react to 2º C of climate change in the eastern U.S., as well as the role that garden centers currently play in seeding future invasions. Together, the papers, published in Diversity and Distributions and BioScience, and the publicly available maps, which track species at the county level, promise to give invasive species managers in the U.S. the tools they need to proactively coordinate their management efforts and adapt now for tomorrow’s warmer climate.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) announced today that a single dead specimen of the invasive pest known as spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) was reported and confirmed at a private residence in Boston. As a result, MDAR is urging the public to check for signs of spotted lanternfly adults in any potted plants that they may have received over the holiday season and to report any potential sightings of this pest on MDAR's online reporting form by taking photographs and collecting a specimen if possible. Residents should look for large, gray insects, about one inch long, with black spots and red underwings.

Have you recently planted maple, crabapple, or other trees? MDAR is asking everyone to check them for spotted lanternfly egg masses or recently hatched nymphs after we were alerted that trees or shrubs with SLF egg masses may have been recently shipped to Massachusetts. Please give all nursery stock a thorough check (including pots or other containers), especially if the plants have tags that indicate they are from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or other SLF-infested states, and report any finds.

See also: Invasive Species Information for more resources

Report sightings of insect pests, pathogens, and invasive plants in Massachusetts

Research led by Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (RISCC) team members Eve Beaury and Emily Fusco evaluates the current landscape of invasive plant regulations across U.S.states. We've got a lot of room for improvement - especially in addressing the need to prohibit range-shifting invasive plants before they arrive. As plants continue to move north driven by climate change, the number of invasives will only increase. Unfortunately, inconsistent regulations that vary from state to state means that invasive plants have an edge on our attempts to control them. However, new research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently published in the Journal of Applied Ecology (requires login 🔒) suggests that we already have an answer in hand – communication.

We need your help to "outsmart" invasive species in Massachusetts. If you have a smartphone or a digital camera, the power to protect the natural heritage of Massachusetts is already in your hands. Join the Outsmart Invasive Species Project to help stop the spread of non-native plants and insects that threaten our environment.

As of July 2022, the Northern giant hornet has not been found in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) today announced that it has identified two dead specimens of the spotted lanternfly (SLF) in Massachusetts communities, and is urging residents to report any sign of the invasive pest. The specimens were recovered in the towns of Milford and Norwood, and were brought into Massachusetts on materials shipped from Pennsylvania counties currently under a spotted lanternfly quarantine. Additionally, MDAR was recently notified that nursery stock with spotted lanternfly egg masses and adults may have been unintentionally imported and planted in several parts of Massachusetts.

MDAR is urging anyone who has received goods or materials, such as plants, landscaping materials, or outdoor furniture, from a state with a known SLF infestation to carefully check the materials, including any packaging, for signs of spotted lanternfly. Currently, there are known introductions of SLF in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. If any indication of SLF is found, residents should take a photo or collect the specimen, and report any potential sightings of the pest using MDAR’s online reporting form. Residents should look for large, gray insects, about one inch long, with black spots and red underwings, or inch-long, rectangular yellowish-brown egg masses covered with a gray waxy coating.