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New techniques use radiation to eliminate dangerous mosquitoes. The Aedes aegypti mosquito is notorious for spreading dengue virus, yellow fever virus, chikungunya virus, and Zika virus, among other ailments. While many mosquitoes do not feed on people, or even domestic animals, this mosquito targets humans causing disease to millions of people throughout the world. ARS researchers with scientists from the University of Florida have developed a new technique for using radiation to control mosquito populations.

Pigweed is a major challenge to our farmers and growers. It is extremely resilient and resistant to many herbicides, posing a significant threat to the agriculture industry. ARS scientists in Stoneville MS, along with collaborators from Clemson University, are researching the pigweed itself to find ways to mitigate this highly adaptable weed.

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found a dramatic decline of 14 wild bee species that are, among other things, important across the Northeast for the pollination of major local crops like apples, blueberries and cranberries.

“We know that wild bees are greatly at risk and not doing well worldwide,” said Sandra Rehan, assistant professor of biological sciences. “This status assessment of wild bees shines a light on the exact species in decline, beside the well-documented bumble bees. Because these species are major players in crop pollination, it raises concerns about compromising the production of key crops and the food supply in general.”

Introduced (non-native) species that becomes established may eventually become invasive, so tracking introduced species provides a baseline for effective modeling of species trends and interactions, geospatially and temporally.

The United States Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (US-RIIS) is comprised of three lists, one each for Alaska, Hawaii, and the conterminous United States. Each list includes introduced (non-native), established (reproducing) taxa that: are, or may become, invasive (harmful) in the locality; are not known to be harmful there; and/or have been used for biological control in the locality.

To be included in the US-RIIS, a taxon must be non-native everywhere in the locality and established (reproducing) anywhere in the locality. Native pest species are not included. The US-RIIS builds on a previous dataset, A Comprehensive List of Non-Native Species Established in Three Major Regions of the U.S.: Version 3.0 (Simpson et al., 2020). An Open-File Report 2018-1156, 15 p., related to the predecessor of the US-RIIS: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181156.

Note: GBIF-US was formerly hosted at BISON.USGS.gov. The existing BISON website was taken down on December 17, 2021 and users are now redirected to Species observations for the United States and U.S. Territories via the new pilot implementation of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF-US) data portal.

Citation: Simpson, Annie, Pam Fuller, Kevin Faccenda, Neal Evenhuis, Janis Matsunaga, and Matt Bowser, 2022, United States Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (US-RIIS) (ver. 2.0, November 2022): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9KFFTOD

See related resource: United States Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (US-RISS) Story Map

On May 29, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) reported the first confirmed sighting of an Asian giant hornet in Washington this year. On May 27, a resident near Custer, Wash. found the dead specimen while walking on a roadway. The resident submitted a photo and report using WSDA's online Hornet Watch Report Form. On May 28, WSDA entomologists concluded that the photo appeared to show an Asian giant hornet. The hornet was detected near the location of a suspected Asian giant hornet bee kill in 2019. WSDA had already planned trapping in the area and will maintain that plan to try to find any colony that may be there. The first find of the year in the United States comes just days after the British Columbian government confirmed their first detection of the year in Canada near Langley, B.C. That specimen was initially reported to authorities on May 15. Asian giant hornet is the world's largest hornet and a predator of honey bees and other insects. A small group of Asian giant hornets can kill an entire honey bee hive in a matter of hours. Visit agr.wa.gov/hornets to learn more about Asian giant hornets and the state's trapping and eradication project.

The Western Regional Panel prepared Quagga and Zebra Mussel Action Plan 2.0 to inform ongoing management and partnership efforts intended to minimize the spread and impacts from zebra and quagga mussels in the western United States. The original QZAP action items have guided prevention, containment, research, and management to address the ecological and economic impacts of invasive quagga and zebra mussels since 2009. The purpose of QZAP 2.0 is to provide a systematic and unified approach to prevent the spread of zebra and quagga mussels into and within the western United States in the future. The urgency and the need for such a coordinated approach remain as important today as ever before. Newly infested waters, increased boating pressure, and gained public and political awareness drove the need for the Western Regional Panel to acknowledge and learn from the past and set forth a new collective path towards the future. These recommendations are intended to inform decision-making to provide increased capacity and clear direction that empowers the further implementation of a collaborative and coordinated multi-jurisdictional regional strategy to prevent the spread of quagga and zebra mussels in the West. For more resources, see: Key Documents

About 82% of the U.S. population lives in urban areas, and that number is growing. “Frequent travel to and from cities means that trees in urban areas have high rates of exposure to invasive species like the emerald ash borer,” says Frank Koch, a USDA Forest Service research ecologist and co-author of a study in the Journal of Applied Ecology about the impacts of invasive insects on urban trees.

Scientists at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Ft. Worth District are researching the effects of biocontrol on an invasive tree in south Texas. The Brazilian peppertree, Schinus terebinthifolia, was introduced to the U.S. as an ornamental in the 1840s. This invasive tree causes problems where it grows because it forms dense thickets, shading out native grasses and shrubs.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced today that a team of six researchers from Oregon State University and the University of California, Santa Cruz are the winners of a national prize challenge to combat white-nose syndrome (WNS), a lethal wildlife disease that has killed millions of bats in North America and pushed some native bat species to the brink of extinction. The Service's White-nose Syndrome Program launched the challenge last October as part of a multi-faceted funding strategy to develop management tools to fight the disease. A total of 47 proposed solutions were submitted for permanently eradicating, weakening or disarming Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes WNS, thereby improving survival in bat species affected by the disease. A panel of 18 experts from academic institutions, federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations evaluated the challenge entries based on readiness, deployment scale, species susceptibility, ease of use, cost efficiency, efficacy and risk to resources.

In the coming months, the Service will announce a second challenge to offer an additional $80,000, as we continue to pursue novel, innovative solutions that could help us permanently eradicate, weaken, or disarm the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. The Service plans to hold additional idea prize challenges in the future to invite solvers with a diverse array of knowledge, skills, expertise and perspectives to help the agency tackle today’s toughest conservation issues.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the completion of Operation Mitten Catcher, an international law enforcement investigation that prevented the illegal import of approximately 15,525 live Chinese mitten crabs into the U.S. Operation Mitten Catcher is the second national inspection operation initiated by the Service’s Wildlife Inspection Interdiction Team. The team consists of seasoned Service law enforcement professionals who are committed to closing international wildlife trafficking pathways, generating intelligence and coordinating national wildlife inspection efforts.

If you suspect someone is illegally importing live mitten crabs or any other species, please call the Service’s wildlife trafficking tips line at 1-844-FWS-TIPS (397-8477) or email fws_tips@fws.gov. You might be eligible for a financial reward if your tip helps solve a case. Learn more about how to report wildlife crimes.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a final rule to reclassify the northern long-eared bat as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The bat, listed as threatened in 2015, now faces extinction due to the rangewide impacts of white-nose syndrome, a deadly disease affecting hibernating bats across North America. The rule takes effect on January 30, 2023.

Early in October 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was faced once again with New World screwworm, which had been eradicated from the United States more than three decades ago. Infestation of this flesh-eating parasite was confirmed in deer from the National Key Deer Refuge in the Florida Keys.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) immediately began releasing sterile male flies in Florida’s affected areas as part of an aggressive eradication campaign. By March 2017, the screwworm had been successfully eradicated from Florida.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) in collaboration with County Agricultural Commissioners, are proud to announce that after a year of hard work we have eradicated all populations of invasive fruit flies from California. This significant achievement is a testament to the hard work of our agencies and the critical support from the public. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue joined Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon in a virtual ceremony to sign a Shared Stewardship Agreement between USDA’s Forest Service and the State of Wyoming [PDF, 2.1 MB]. The Shared Stewardship Agreement establishes a framework for federal and state agencies to promote active forest management, improve collaboration, and respond to ecological challenges and natural resource concerns in Wyoming. Under the agreement, the State of Wyoming and USDA will work together on forest and grassland restoration across all land ownerships, with a focus on protecting at-risk communities and watersheds from wildfire. The USDA Forest Service initiative for cross-boundary land management is described in the 2018 document Toward Shared Stewardship Across Landscapes: An Outcome-Based Investment Strategy [PDF, 14 MB]. This strategy addresses the increasing challenges faced by federal, state, and private managers of forests and rangeland, including catastrophic wildfires, invasive species, degraded watersheds, and insects and disease.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced it is taking several additional actions to ensure the health and viability of the nation’s livestock and poultry. In the two months since the initial detection of H5N1 in dairy cattle, USDA has worked quickly and in concert with its federal and state partners to better understand the virus and contain the disease and remains committed to seeking additional ways to collect the data needed to better understand and mitigate the risk created by this outbreak.
See related resource: Avian Influenza

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.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today it is offering $75 million in funding for the eradication and control of feral swine through the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program (FSCP) in a joint effort between USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The 2018 Farm Bill included this new pilot program to help address the threat that feral swine pose to agriculture, ecosystems and human and animal health. Additional information on the complete funding announcement and about specific pilot projects, including target areas and the roles for which partner assistance is being requested, can be found on the FSCP webpage.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is asking the public to look for and report the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). APHIS declares every August Tree Check Month and is asking you to look for this destructive, invasive beetle by checking trees on your property and in your community for damage. Left unchecked, the ALB can cause infested trees to die. August is an ideal time of year to look for the beetle and the damage it causes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), together with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, is announcing that the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) quarantine on Long Island is now smaller. New York is now closer to being ALB-free.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is declaring April 2023 Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month (IPPDAM). This national outreach month is dedicated to highlighting the impact of invasive plant pests and diseases on plants nationwide and informing Americans how they can help reduce their spread. IPPDAM aims to raise public awareness about the threat and how U.S. residents can help protect U.S. resources from hungry pests.