Resource Search

APHIS created the webpage to make it easier for its customers to find critical information on pests and diseases of concern. With this tool, members of the public will have the information they need to report pests and diseases and together we can protect America’s agriculture and natural resources. This page lists all pest and disease programs managed by APHISas part of its mission to protect American agriculture and natural resources. Users can search by type (plant, animal), keyword (avian, fruit fly, cotton), or by the specific pest or disease (coconut rhinoceros beetle, brucellosis). You can also scroll through the page, which lists the pests and diseases alphabetically and includes a corresponding image.

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have identified a new way to detect the presence of live African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) that minimizes the need for samples from live animals and provides easier access to veterinary labs that need to diagnose the virus. "We have identified a cell-line that can be used to isolate and detect the presence of the live virus," said ARS Scientist Dr. Douglas Gladue. "This is a critical breakthrough and a tremendous step for African Swine Fever Virus diagnostics."

This research, which is highlighted in this month's issue of Viruses, was funded through an interagency agreement with the Science and Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A provisional patent application for this research was filed in April 2020 and the technology is now available for license. ARS scientists at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in Plum Island, N.Y. will continue to perform research and work towards finding tools to control the spread of ASFV in the nation.

ID Tools helps agency staff to quickly identify pests, including insects, diseases, harmful weeds, and more, through an efficient, online database system. ID Tools currently includes more than 30 websites covering a vast array of pests and pests associated with specific commodities.

Publication NA–FR–01–11.

In 2020, ITP received funding from the Plant Protection Act Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program to produce an identification tool for species of Vespa. ITP is working with the University of California, Davis and the American Museum of Natural History to produce a comprehensive website to support screening and identification of hornet species from around the world. Until that tool is available in late 2021, here is a set of IDaids that offer tips for identifying AGH and more as part of the effort to help protect our honeybees.
See also: Search IDaids to find identification resources for other pests and diseases that affect agriculture.

Partnering with a local Alaskan native community, the U.S. Forest Service has for the first time published a dual language booklet in English and a native Alaskan language, Yup'ik, to help educate the greater community in Southwestern Alaska on invasive species. This publication, Protecting Southwestern Alaska from Invasive Species: A Guide in the English and Yup'ik Languages, aims to explain invasive species concerns unique to Southwestern Alaska, which is home to a large community of the indigenous Yup'ik people.

New website delivers spectacular images and details of some of the world's bees. ARS scientists need your help in monitoring and protecting our important pollinators. The Exotic Bee ID website, designed and developed as a screening aid to support identification of non-native bees, offers spectacular views of some of our most important and not so important pollinators with stunning clarity. Watch the  video to learn more about this new tool.

Exotic Bee ID was designed and developed as an interactive screening aid to help those that monitor and intercept non-native bees in the U.S. Theintention is to help reduce the loss of valuable native pollinators through early detection of possible invasives.

The yellow-legged hornet was first detected in the U.S. when a beekeeper close to Savannah, GA, found an unusual hornet on his property and reported it to the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA). On August 9, 2023, APHIS confirmed the University of Georgia’s identification of this insect as a yellow-legged hornet. Learn more about yellow-legged hornet lookalikes and how to report potential sightings of this new species.