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Hunting for natural enemies of the red imported fire ant is paying off for Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. Their latest discovery — a new virus found in fire ants from Argentina — has the potential of becoming a biological control agent against the red imported fire ants infesting the U.S.

A parasitoid wasp that is the natural enemy of a fly known as the spotted-wing drosophila could be a good friend to growers. Washington State University researchers recently confirmed the discovery of the potentially beneficial wasp in the United States for the first time. The drosophila flies cause major damage to several Washington crops, especially sweet cherries and berries. The wasp, which lays its eggs in the flies, could be a means of controlling their spread.

If your leisure-time plans include boating or fishing in Michigan, recent changes in Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) may affect you. Beginning March 21, watercraft users in the state are required to take steps to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. Also, anyone fishing with live or cut bait or practicing catch-and-release fishing will need to take precautions to limit the movement of invasive species and fish diseases.

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) has initiated a new social media campaign to raise awareness of the dangers cogongrass poses to the state. With agriculture and natural ecosystems at risk, ADAI is calling on Alabamians to recognize this threat and share the information.

Cogongrass has now infested more than 75 percent of Alabama's counties. This federally regulated noxious weed was introduced in the U.S. in 1911 as packing material in the port of Mobile. In the decades since, it has greatly expanded and become more dangerous. Visit www.alcogongrass.com to learn how to spot cogongrass and report it when it blooms again in the spring.

Members of the $689-billion outdoor recreation industry have established a blue-ribbon commission to stop and reverse the spread of aquatic invasive species in the U.S. The commission will bring together leading biologists, environmentalists, policymakers, and resource managers to assess existing mitigation efforts and identify more effective eradication solutions. Findings from the analysis will be presented to Congress and the administration in 2023, with a goal of passing comprehensive legislation to better manage and eliminate aquatic invasive species.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has developed a publicly available dashboard that displays the results from nation-wide avian influenza virus (AIV) monitoring in wild bird populations. Data presented in the dashboard can identify increased AIV risk and can provide information to poultry producers, wildlife managers, and members of the public on AIV activity in their area.
See related resource: Wild Bird Avian Influenza Surveillance

A portion of Los Angeles County has been placed under quarantine for the Tau fruit fly (Zeugodacus tau group) following the detection of more than 20 flies in the unincorporated area of Stevenson Ranch, near the city of Santa Clarita.

This the first Tau fruit fly quarantine ever in the Western Hemisphere. The fly is native to Asia and is a serious pest for agriculture and natural resources, with a very wide host range, including numerous fruits and vegetables as well as a select range of native plants in California.

To reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species in Maine, a law was passed by the Maine Legislature (effective June 16, 2023) that requires boaters to take specific actions to encourage water to drain from their watercraft prior to entering a water body or leaving a launch site. Aquatic invasive species are any fish, wildlife, or plant species that spreads to a water body where they do not naturally occur. These species are often transferred to new locations on watercraft, watercraft trailers, and other equipment associated with water recreation, and they impact the health of our waters, fish, and wildlife.

See also: Help us Keep it Maine: Protect our Waters from Aquatic Invasive Species

Maryland renamed the northern snakehead to the Chesapeake Channa in April 2024. The name change aims to increase public interest in eating the fish and control its population. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will begin changing the name on January 1, 2025.
See also: Senate Bill 207 / House Bill 19

Forest Service scientists have published a guide synthesizing best practices for controlling these tiny bugs. It promotes a strategy of combining insecticide use with adelgid-eating insects.

Commissioners approved rule changes in Chapter 68-5, F.A.C., regarding nonnative species on February 21, 2019. The new rules will add high-risk nonnative animals to the Prohibited list and clarify rule language by defining key terms. The rules also include provisions for people currently in personal or commercial possession of these species. All rule changes will become effective on May 2, 2019. The 90-day grace period will begin on May 2, 2019 and end on July 31, 2019. Have questions? Contact us at NonnativeSpeciesRules@MyFWC.com, or see New Nonnative Species Rules for more information.

ITP, in collaboration with Pollinator Partnership, is pleased to release The BeeMD at idtools.org. The BeeMD will help beekeepers and others concerned with bees quickly identify honey bee health issues (including colony collapse disorder), through an interactive, visually rich, informative, and easy to use website. This release includes much of the content from the original website first published in 2016. On this new platform, the “visual key” has been completely restructured and streamlined, and the entire website redesigned and expanded, offering additional informational, visual, and supportive content.

You could say that preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) is a team sport. While it takes the professional efforts of natural resource managers, AIS specialists and others in the environmental field, it also takes the cooperation of the public. Yet for community members to take necessary actions, they must first be aware of the negative impacts AIS can have and how to stop their spread. Communicating with them about AIS in an effective way is vital.

New research from Wisconsin Sea Grant Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Specialist Tim Campbell, University of Wisconsin-Madison Associate Professor Bret Shaw and consultant Barry T. Radler sheds new light on such communication. The researchers analyzed which communication strategies are most effective and which may pose unintended problems. The team's findings were published online Aug 14 in the journal Environmental Management (“Testing Emphasis Message Frames and Metaphors on Social Media to Engage Boaters to Learn about Preventing the Spread of Zebra Mussels”).

Invasive tegu lizards from South America are currently established in four locations in Florida and negatively impact native, ground-nesting animals in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Two newly published research studies from the U.S. Geological Survey show that, depending on their size and body condition, tegu lizards could survive in cooler, northern climates.

The Argentine black and white tegu is a large lizard from South America currently inhabiting the Florida counties of Charlotte, Hillsborough, Miami Dade and St. Lucie. Tegus are introduced to the U.S. through the pet trade and then likely released from captivity into the environment. "Several lines of evidence from recent USGS research studies published from 2018 to 2021 now provide clear indication for managers that the entire southeast portion of the United States is at risk of tegu establishment if lizard releases continue unabated," said Amy Yackel Adams, a USGS research ecologist.

Invasive species cause biodiversity loss and about $120 billion in annual damages in the U.S. alone. Despite plentiful evidence showing that invasive species can change food webs, how invaders disrupt food webs and native species through time has remained unclear. Now, thanks to a collaborative study conducted by researchers representing the University of Montana's Flathead Lake Biological Station (FLBS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, there is new insight into how invasive species progressively affect native food webs.

Researchers from Dickinson College and the U.S. Geological Survey collaborated on field research to understand the ability of human searchers to detect the invasive brown treesnake (BTS) on the island of Guam. Due to their nocturnal and tree-dwelling habits, these snakes are extremely difficult to detect, especially when they are present at low densities in an area. A new study "Use of visual surveys and radiotelemetry reveals sources of detection bias for a cryptic snake at low densities" published in the journal Ecosphere, helps explain why and provides valuable information on optimizing search methods and search locations that could be valuable if the BTS was accidentally introduced to a snake-free island.

This summer, state biologists from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) documented the presence of a new aquatic invasive species to New Hampshire. The spiny water flea (Bythotrephes longimanus) was documented on September 13 in the deepest location of Lake Winnipesaukee, in the Broads in Gilford, New Hampshire. Subsequent sampling also confirmed spiny water flea presence in Alton and Wolfeboro areas of the lake. State biologists believe this is a recent infestation.

Aquatic invasive species inflict millions of dollars of ecological and economic damage to the Great Lakes, with impacts on coastal industries, water quality, native fish and wildlife and human health. Recently, Blue Accounting, in partnership with state and federal agencies, launched a new suite of web-based resources and tools to support early detection of aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes. The earlier new aquatic invasive species are detected, the easier and less expensive it is to avoid potentially devastating consequences of a large invasion. The new tools released by the Blue Accounting initiative help target efforts to focus on high-risk species and locations across the 11,000 miles of shoreline and 94,000 miles of surface area that make up the Great Lakes basin.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) researchers in Florida have developed “attract-and-kill” traps to control Asian citrus psyllids in the suburbs where citrus trees are popular landscape plantings.

Our new Web site for the National Invasive Species Information Center recently launched. We hope you find the new site easier to use and find the invasive species you are looking for.

Please check out  highlights of our major changes. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions or if you would like to provide feedback.