Invasive Species - What's New on NISIC's Site

An insect that can infest and damage hundreds of hectares of maize fields, literally overnight, is sweeping across Asia – alarming smallholder farmers and threatening livelihoods – but the damage can be limited, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today. Fall Armyworm is native to the Americas. However, since 2016 it has been aggressively moving ever eastwards, sweeping across Africa, and making landfall for the first time in Asia last summer. Fall Armyworm (FAW) was first detected in India in July 2018 and by January of this year, it had spread to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and China’s Yunnan Province.

ITP is pleased to announce the release of seven new screening aids for important Coleoptera and Lepidoptera pests. These were designed specifically to be used when examining traps or through visual inspection as part of surveys conducted by state cooperators for the APHIS PPQ Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) program. CAPS surveys help officials monitor and gather data about pests on high-risk hosts and commodities, including pests that may have been recently introduced to the United States. The new screening aids are for city longhorn beetle, Agrilus of concern, pinecone and bamboo longhorn beetles, tomato fruit borers, coconut rhinoceros beetles, spruce longhorn beetles, and velvet longhorn beetle. All of ITP's CAPS screening aids can be found on the ITP website and on the CAPS Resource and Collaboration site Screening Aids page.

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.

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) tracks environment and natural resources legislation to bring you up-to-date, real-time information on bills that have been introduced in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Database provides search options by state (or territory), topic, keyword, year, status or primary sponsor. Topics include Wildlife - Legislation related to wildlife, including protected and invasive species, habitat restoration, migration corridors, trafficking, disease, etc. 
See also: Resources State Bill Tracking Database Archive (2009-2022); includes Wildlife-Invasive Species and Wildlife-Pollinators topics

Invasive insect and arthropod species make for a lot of scary headlines—think emerald ash borer, spotted lanternfly, and Asian longhorned tick, just to name a few. But success stories in invasive-species response are out there. They just need to be told. One of those success stories is the eradication of the European grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana) in northern California after it was found there in 2009. A cooperative, multipronged response effort kept infestations from running wild, and it was declared eradicated in 2016, two years after the last adult moth was caught in the region. The story of this effort is recounted, along with analysis of the invasion’s dynamics, in a study published in January in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America.

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.

A major tool in the fight against invasive species is the Report INvasive website, hosted by Purdue College of Agriculture and the Indiana Invasive Species Council. The website includes several ways that people can report invasive species, including a smartphone app from the Great Lakes Early Detection Network. “There are not that many specialists and experts covering the state,” Sadof said. “When there are concerned citizens reporting, however, we have many more eyes and a better chance of detecting and eradicating a harmful species early.”

New research by the Threatened Species Recovery Hub has shown that invasive or pest species are a problem for 1,257 threatened species in Australia, or about four out of five species. The research which has been published in the scientific journal Pacific Conservation Biology also identified the top ten invasive species based on how many threatened species they impact. Lead researcher Stephen Kearney from the University of Queensland said many people may be surprised at which species top the list. “Rabbits, a plant root disease and feral pigs are the top three pest species impacting Australia’s threatened species,” Mr Kearney said.

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.

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) announced today that a single dead specimen of the invasive pest known as spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) was reported and confirmed at a private residence in Boston. As a result, MDAR is urging the public to check for signs of spotted lanternfly adults in any potted plants that they may have received over the holiday season and to report any potential sightings of this pest on MDAR's online reporting form by taking photographs and collecting a specimen if possible. Residents should look for large, gray insects, about one inch long, with black spots and red underwings.