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A tiny wasp may be the solution for managing an agricultural pest causing major economic damage to fruit, vegetable, and field crops in North America and Europe. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are currently studying Trissolcus japonicus, commonly known as the samurai wasp, to see if this parasitoid wasp is the right biological control agent for reducing brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) (BMSB) populations outside of Asia. Biological control is the process of reducing or mitigating pests or pathogens by using the pest’s or pathogen’s natural enemies. The samurai wasp is a known natural enemy for the BMSB in Asia, and researchers are understanding how it behaves in non-native environments.

The environmental tolerances and potential range of the tomato pest Tuta absoluta in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia and Australia may have been underestimated according to new research co-authored by CABI scientists. All results from the scientists' research suggests with the greatest certainty that T. absoluta (also known as Phthorimaea absoluta or tomato leafminer) has further to spread globally, particularly in southern and East Asia, Australia and Central America.

See also: Pest Alerts - Vegetable Pests for more fact sheets

See also: WGA's 'Top 50 Invasive Species in the West' offers first regional report for more information

The Colorado Division of Wildlife is monitoring the state's waters for the introduction of an aggressive invasive species, the rusty crayfish. Rusty crayfish were found for the first time in Colorado during routine sampling operations in 2009 in the Yampa River drainage between Steamboat Springs and the town of Yampa. Because of their larger size and more aggressive nature, rusty crayfish can impact fish populations by consuming small fish and fish eggs, and negatively impact fish and spread unwanted aquatic plants by aggressively harvesting underwater plant beds. Learn more how to identify the rusty crayfish, how to stop the spread and how to report sightings.

The first section of the book includes information about how tourism-related infrastructure and activities promote biological invasions, including key pathways for non-native invasive species introductions. This section provides case studies of different organisms that are known to be introduced and/or promoted by tourism in different ecosystems or regions. The second section elaborates on known and potential impacts of invasive species on tourism and recreation, including how they may affect, positively or negatively, the economic revenue from tourism, tourist access, recreation, aesthetic values and tourists’ perceptions. The last section focuses on management and policy, covering aspects of how visitors perceive invasive species and their willingness to manage them, biosecurity measures to prevent invasion related to tourism, as well as potential policy options moving forward. The book draws on a number of examples across multiple taxa, landscapes and regions of the world.

Citation: Barros, A., Shackleton, R., Rew, L. J., Pizarro, C., Pauchard, A. (Eds.). (2022). Tourism, Recreation and Biological Invasions. CABI.

Invasive alien species (IAS) have become a major driver of biodiversity loss, second only to habitat fragmentation in recent decade. Europe is particularly affected by alien species, which are invading the continent an unprecedented pace. Their impact means that many of the region's rarest endemic species are on the brink of extinction and that our well-being and economies are affected. Establishing an early warning and rapid response framework for Europe become a key target. The present publication is the EEA contribution to achieving this goal.

Northern pike are native to Alaska, Canada, and much of the central and eastern continental United States. Genetic evidence reveals the role of human transport in the spread of invasive northern pike in the Columbia River basin.

Potatoes and oak trees don’t have a lot in common, but there is one thing, and it isn’t good – a fungal-like plant pathogen in the genus Phytophthora. One of the many invasive pathogens contained in this genus, P. infestans, was responsible for the Irish potato famine. Since the mid-1990s, though, Phytophthora has been attacking forest trees along the West Coast, with the pathogen P. ramorum, also known as "sudden oak death" (SOD). SOD was first detected in the San Francisco Bay Area; it has since spread throughout California. In 2001, SOD was discovered in southwest Oregon where it infected tanoaks trees. The discovery led to the formation of an interagency team that included researchers from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Oregon State University (OSU), to develop strategies to mitigate the impacts of SOD.

Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is an exotic, invasive, wood-boring insect that infests and kills native North American ash trees, both in forests and landscape plantings. With EAB now in several areas of the Show-Me State - and its ability to hitchhike on firewood - the probability of it spreading to noninfected areas in the state is high.