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Boxwood blight is a fungal disease that can cause the leaves of boxwood plants to fall off prematurely. ARS scientists in Fort Dietrick, MD, are studying how boxwood blight evolves and are working closely with the floriculture and nursey industry to develop methods for testing, controlling, and mitigating the disease.

USDA Forest Service researchers are monitoring the effects of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease from Eurasia that has decimated cave-hibernating bats across the U.S. since its arrival in 2006. "The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome grows on bats in the wintertime. It causes them to wake up during their hibernation and burn their fat reserves," says Phillip Jordan, wildlife biologist. Jordan is among the experts featured in a new video, Bats on the Brink. Forestry technician Virginia McDaniel created and produced the video.

Giant reed, Arundo donax, is a large, fast-growing invasive grass that has invaded at least 100,000 acres of "riparian" habitat in the southwestern and southeastern U.S. and is present as far north as Ohio and Washington State. Watch this video to learn how ARS researchers are using biocontrol (insects) to reduce the presence of this invasive plant.

Provides video recordings and presentations from the annual Cal-IPC Symposiums (1995-present).

The goals of the California Invasive Species Action Week (June 1-9, 2024),  are to increase public awareness of invasive species issues and promote public participation in the fight against California's invasive species and their impacts on our natural resources.

Prevention is the most effective strategy in managing invasive species. However, hundreds of invasive plants and animals have already established in California and are rapidly spreading each year. These invaders are negatively impacting our waters, our native plants and animals (some of them rare, threatened, or endangered), our agriculture, our health, our economy, and our favorite recreational places. Help us celebrate California's Invasive Species Action Week, and more importantly, help stop the spread of invasive species, by volunteering to take action.

Learn how invasive species are affecting California, with Invasive Species Action Week Lunchtime Talks. Webinars are part of California Invasive Species Action Week, organized by the California Department of Fish & Wildlife. Webinars were recorded and available for viewing.

Provides comprehensive information on cogongrass in Georgia along with links to other southeastern state efforts on cogongrass. To date, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas have on-going research, education and/or control programs that are supported by university, state and federal agency cooperators.

Fire ants cause significant harm not only to humans, but to the food we grow? Imported fire ants have invaded about 350 million acres in the U.S., and they cause approximately $8 billion in economic damages per year.

Learn more about what’s happening with this invasive species that has spread throughout the southern U.S., and what ARS is doing about it, as the Office of Communications launches a week-long fire ant campaign (June 22-28, 2024). ARS will feature videos, articles, and interviews with our scientists who are leading the fight against these tiny invaders.
See also: Fire ant articles in Tellus

A new approach to tackling the spotted-wing drosophila involves manipulating the behavior of these insects. The spotted-wing drosophila is an invasive pest of fruits that infests ripe, ready-to-eat fruit. The pest poses a significant threat to farmers because it is very difficult to control with standard pesticides. ARS scientists have devised a solution involves manipulating the behavior of these insects by disguising healthy fruit as being infected with an unappealing pathogen.

Invasive species, explained. Alien plants and animals can wreak havoc on ecosytems when they move in and take over.
See also: Invasive Species 101 Video (Jul 26, 2019)

Native to Europe, Yellow toadflax and Dalmatian toadflax can typically be found on roadsides, grasslands and in crop fields. Like many other weeds, toadflaxes have been introduced to North America as decorative plants but they are now having adverse effects. Whilst these weeds may look pretty and provide decorative appeal, they soon escape cultivation and can cause some serious problems. As part of a new CABI Podcast series, CABI experts Dr Hariet Hinz and Dr Ivan Toševski were interviewed from CABI in Switzerland, who explained to us what measures they are taking to control the spread of toadflax.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced the release of the DEC-sponsored documentary, Uninvited: The Spread of Invasive Species, via YouTube. DEC's Division of Lands and Forests contracted with the Westfield Production Company to produce this documentary about the significant threat invasive species pose to New York's biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as public health and the State's economy.

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 Invasive Species Data Mobilization Campaign of the Western Governors’ Association seeks to encourage national, state, and local land managers, private landowners, and non-governmental organizations to enter previously unavailable data into new or existing invasive species data management platforms using recommendations developed by WGA and invasive species data experts.

High-quality information is an essential weapon in the fight against invasive species in the West. Land managers, conservation groups, industry, and private landowners need accurate, current regional invasive species occurrence data. Technological barriers and standardization issues, however, often prevent wide sharing of useful invasive species occurrence data.

See also:

• LISTEN: Out West podcast highlights the importance and complexities of data collection for invasive species (Jun 4, 2021)
• LISTEN: Learn the importance of invasive species data to conservation districts in Our West podcast (Feb 17, 2021)