| Section three: IPPM section |
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| Introduction |
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The purpose of the Insect Pest Prevention and Management Section (IPPM) is to protect Oregon’s agriculture, horticulture, environment, and quality of life from damaging insect pests and to enhance or maintain the value of our agricultural and horticultural products. Our first set of defenses is regulatory, consisting of state and federal quarantines to exclude exotic pests from Oregon and state control area orders to slow their spread within Oregon. IPPM detection and survey programs provide a second line of defense to protect our natural resources and markets. When an exotic pest population is detected in Oregon, eradication and control programs are implemented when feasible.
Our professional personnel also perform identification services, pest risk assessments, and inspections for several state and federal permit programs. Surveys for our agricultural and horticultural crops often meet the entry requirements of national and international customers. Sharing information with the public and with industry groups has become increasingly important in fulfilling our purpose. Our survey data are documented in IPPM databases and maps and nationally in the National Agricultural Pest Information System (NAPIS) database.
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| Highlights-2006 |
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Dr. Kathleen J. R. Johnson, Supervisor, IPPM Program
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- For only the third time since 1980, no gypsy moth (GM) eradication treatments were applied.
- A new pathway for gypsy moth was identified when a delimitation grid in Bend revealed 57 gypsy moths. Four female gypsy moths were found laying eggs in an apple tree at a residence at which two people were restoring a 1967 Chevrolet purchased on ebay from Connecticut.
- One AGM (Asian Gypsy Moth) and 65 GM were trapped in 2006 at six new and three old sites. Eradication areas of 640 and 533 acres, respectively, are being proposed for treatment with Btk in 2007.
- When gypsy moth lures dated 2002 were received for use in 2006 traps, ODA requested testing. Test results revealed little or no disparlure (the active ingredient) in the lure strings. Unfortunately, survey technicians had already been placing traps with these faulty lures for about a month. Survey technicians rose to this challenge by adding new effective lures to traps.
- Following Japanese beetle catches in the adjacent north AirTrans Way and Air National Guard Base areas at Portland International Airport and on Swan Island, 200 acres were added to the original 49-acre eradication area slated for foliar and soil treatments.
- Thirty eight Japanese beetles were trapped: seven in the PDX area; 28 at Swan Island and single catches in Troutdale, northwest Portland and Silverton. For the first time with the detection of the Swan Island site, ground cargo carriers joined air cargo carriers as potent sources of Japanese beetle introductions.
- Our cooperative exotic woodborer detection program continued for the tenth year. A Guide to the Siricid Woodwasps of North America was developed by ODA’s Steve Valley and Jim LaBonte and colleagues and published by the USDA Forest Service.
- Innovative efforts to eradicate a small, isolated apple maggot infestation in Pendleton for the first time used netting over soil under infested trees with insecticide treatments, tree cutting and delimitation trapping.
- ODA continued efforts to eradicate an exotic woodborer, the granulate ambrosia beetle, using spring pesticide treatments in and near a railroad tie treatment plant in The Dalles.
- A record number of funnel traps (525) were set and woodborers identified in a timely manner. No European woodwasp, Mediterranean pine engraver, northern ash bark beetle, pine shoot beetles, red-haired bark beetle nor other exotic target species at The Dalles, e.g., granulate ambrosia beetle, Euplatypus compositus pinhole borer and Monarthrum spp. ambrosia beetles were found.
- After Argentine ant and ghost ant infestations were detected at the Oregon Zoo, recommendations were provided to zoo staff on possible eradication methods.
- Surveys did not detect apple tortrix, Asian longhorned beetle, blueberry maggot, cherry ermine moth, emerald ash borer, imported fire ant, nun moth, Oriental beetle, red oak borer, rosy gypsy moth, Siberian moth, or summer fruit tortrix in Oregon. Apple maggot, cereal leaf beetle and cherry bark tortrix surveys did not find any expansion of their ranges in Oregon.
- Delimitation trapping for two European wireworm species at and near three nursery sites in Multnomah and Clackamas counties indicated very low numbers within the nurseries and a limited distribution outside the nurseries as only one wireworm of each species was found outside a nursery, at a single site about ⅓ mile away.
- European poplar shoot borer was detected in Oregon (in the Portland metro area and in Salem) for the first time.
- Identification of nontarget species in funnel traps detected new state records with probable sources in eastern North America: a bark beetle, possibly Carphoborus bifurcus, in Springfield; a longhorned beetle, the rustic borer, Xylotrechus colonus, in Portland; a wood wasp, the pigeon tremex, Tremex columba, in Portland and wood wasp, Xiphydria maculata, in The Dalles.
- A live adult and several pupal Tremex wood wasps and a Sessiid clearwing moth larva were intercepted in solid wood packing material from China after reports were received from a concerned worker at a business receiving metal castings from China.
- Almost 100,000 acres in 14 Oregon counties recorded economic infestations of grasshoppers in 2006. Mormon cricket populations were recorded on over 4,000 acres in Malheur and Gilliam counties.
- In the Fort Klamath area, ODA assisted in the protection of almost 20,000 acres of rangeland against nymphal infestations of Camnula pellucida using aerial applications of Dimilin on 50 percent of the acreage in June.
- Potato tuberworm was detected in Marion County for the first time.
- Overwintering recovery of the cereal leaf beetle egg parasitoid was achieved at a low level (5 percent parasitism) for the first time at the Scholls site, but attempts to recover them at the Banks field insectary were unsuccessful after previous success in 2005.
- The sole releases of cereal leaf beetle egg parasitoids from a Colorado lab were made at a new location in two fields in Scio (Linn County).
- For the first time, due to the high parasitism rates by cereal leaf beetle larval parasitoids in some areas, only larval parasitoids from Oregon were collected for redistribution between grain fields.
Our IPPM team met new challenges this year while planning and implementing six different eradication or control projects and over 30 survey programs. Looking to the future, development and implementation of electronic data collection in the field could offer a major step towards enhancing IPPM program efficiency. This step could also be instrumental in improving communication and standardization of effective processes and techniques while encouraging innovation. Sufficient funding remains a critical need. New threats are increasingly found in other parts of North America as US attempts to exclude dangerous plant pests have been only partially successful. Oregon is in the enviable position of having relatively few exotic pests. To maintain that position, the need for external quarantines has become urgent.
The considerable achievements reported here have been possible due to the efforts of our experienced, professional and dedicated IPPM team. Their continued development of our excellence in technical and field expertise, and their positive collaboration with each other, cooperators, volunteers, and the public were essential to our successful implementation of these programs designed to protect and enhance Oregon’s natural resources, economy, and quality of life. Thanks to each one of you for all your excellent work.
A special thank you to Alan Mudge, who retired at the end of November, for his 21+ years of ODA service protecting Oregon agriculture, forests, and urban environments from invasive insect species. I will miss his remarkable skill, professionalism and steady friendship. Fortunately, Alan anticipates continuing his service as a volunteer entomologist emeritus at ODA, but with better hours and different work. Thank you also to our volunteers and many cooperators in Oregon, nationally and internationally. We will again need everyone’s best contributions to face, successfully, the challenges of 2007.
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| Apple maggot |
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In 1979, the apple maggot (AM), Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera, Tephritidae) native to the eastern United States, was first reported in Oregon. Since then it has been found in all counties in western Oregon and east to Wasco County, and in an area of Pendleton in Umatilla County, posing a serious threat to apple production in Oregon.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture has been trapping for AM in eastern Oregon, in particular in the Milton-Freewater area, for more than 23 years and AM has subsequently been found in Sherman, Gilliam and Umatilla counties. All AM populations have been successfully eradicated except for the southwestern part of Pendleton where continuous surveying since 2001 showed positive trap catches but is so far negative for the Milton-Freewater area. If AM were to spread to the Milton-Freewater area, local apple production would be put at risk and pesticide use would likely significantly increase.
The 2006 apple maggot eradication project started in Pendleton on June 23 with the removal of 70 hawthorn trees at the Blue Mountain Apartment complex. By the end of June, a total of 422 yellow sticky baited apple maggot traps were placed between Pendleton (248 traps), Weston (10), Adams (4), Athena (10), and Milton-Freewater (150) including several sites along the Umatilla River and other rivers. In order to prevent apple maggots from hatching out of the soil, more than 400 meters of fine insect proof netting was placed on the ground along the drip line of the hawthorn trees at the Blue Mountain Apartment complex. A licensed pesticide company applied one imidacloprid and two spinosad treatments on the ground and the foliage of the hawthorn trees at the Blue Mountain Apartment complex.
In total, 135 apple maggots were caught during a period of four months at the Blue Mountain Apartment complex. One apple maggot was caught in a trap at the USDA Forestry Building, about 50 meters below the Blue Mountain Apartment complex. No other apple maggot was caught in any other trap outside the Blue Mountain Apartment complex.
In addition to Umatilla County, apple maggot traps were also placed in La Grande, Union County (40 traps) and in the Ontario area, Malheur County (21 traps). All traps were negative.
Chart: AM catches at Blue Mountain Apartment, Pendleton, 2006
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| Apple tortrix |
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Apple tortrix, Archips fuscocupreanus, is a pest originally from Japan and Korea. It attacks apple, stone fruits, filbert, azalea, horse chestnut, potentilla, and other plants. Because of the attractiveness of cherry ermine moth (CEM) lures to apple tortrix, approximately 32 CEM traps were placed in Clackamas (one trap), Washington (one trap) and Multnomah (30 traps) counties to detect both CEM and apple tortrix in 2006. Apple tortrix has not yet been detected in Oregon.
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| Asian longhorned beetle |
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In 2006, ODA surveys continued for Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), Anoplophora glabripennis. A wood boring beetle native to China and Korea, ALB larvae feed on hardwoods, eventually killing them. The ALB quarantine in Illinois was lifted in 2006 following two years of negative survey, but efforts to delimit and eradicate other infestations detected to date continue. An ODA news release highlighting ALB was released on September 6, 2006. Information and pictures of ALB are maintained on the Plant Division Web site for easy public access. No effective trap is currently available. Visual surveys were conducted on 16,258 host trees at 6,975 sites in 34 counties for ALB and typical ALB damage where other pest detection traps (e.g. gypsy moth, Japanese beetle) were present. At least 27 sites at which survey technicians reported ALB-like damage in 2005 were evaluated by ODA entomologists. No ALB infestations have been found to date in Oregon.
In 2006 in the Portland metro area, 28 businesses receiving commodities with solid wood packing material (SWPM) primarily from China, Korea, and Europe, were interviewed regarding their importation and SWPM handling practices and pest risk. ALB posters and pest alerts were left with each importer. Visual surveys of hosts were then conducted at five of the high-risk sites in 2006.
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| Blueberry maggot |
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The blueberry maggot (BBM), Rhagoletis mendax, is native to the eastern United States and Canada. A pest of blueberry, deerberry, and huckleberry, BBM is a serious threat to Oregon’s blueberry industry. In order to protect our high blueberry yield production and markets, Oregon has a blueberry maggot quarantine for infested states to prevent BBM from entering and establishing in Oregon. In 2006, 365 BBM traps baited with ammonium acetate lures were placed in 18 western Oregon counties. No blueberry maggots have been detected to date.
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| Cereal leaf beetle |
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Cereal leaf beetle (CLB), Oulema melanopus, was previously detected in 19 counties: Baker, Benton, Clackamas, Columbia, Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson, Lane, Linn, Malheur, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Washington, and Yamhill. Surveys did not detect CLB in uninfested counties.
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) renewed a master permit to allow entry of pines one inch or less in diameter, if accompanied by the appropriate certification from ODA. On February 22, 2006, one or two CLB adults were found on a shipment of Japanese black pine, Pinus thunbergiana, B&B nursery stock trucked from a nursery in St. Paul (Marion County), Oregon, to a receiving nursery in Templeton, California. In March 2006, ODA nursery staff found about 20 to 30 CLB adults in Pinus nursery stock using beat sheets and a couple of CLB adults using sweep nets in grassy areas at the St. Paul nursery. Pinus thunbergiana is not regulated under the CDFA CLB quarantine.
In 2006, ODA, USDA, and OSU continued cooperating on the CLB biocontrol program to monitor, release, and redistribute the two parasitoid wasp species, Anaphes flavipes and Tetrastichus julis, in virtually all of the CLB infested counties in Oregon.
The two insectaries for the egg parasitoid, Anaphes flavipes, in Washington County were monitored for natural population changes. Although previous recovery efforts in Banks showed a 30 percent parasitism rate (PR), 2006 efforts failed to find any wasps. Monitoring of the Scholls site during 2006 yielded our first overwintering recovery there, but only from one collection in mid-June with a PR of approximately 5 percent. It may take a minimum of five years for populations to stabilize or even increase. Due to very low CLB levels, there was no activity at the OSU Agricultural Research Center insectary site in Union County. All releases of Anaphes flavipes in 2006 were made, with a grower’s permission, at a new location in two fields in Scio, Linn County. The source for the Anaphes flavipes wasps was the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s biocontrol facility in Palisade, Colorado. Oregon sent 18,316 adult CLB to Colorado to help support the lab colony. An estimated 16,750 Anaphes flavipes were released at the Scio fields. Releases were made there so as not to interfere with recovery efforts in the Washington County insectaries.
The goals for the T. julis program in 2006 were to determine the distribution of T. julis in the Willamette Valley, to track the phenology of T. julis in Western Oregon, and to collect and redistribute T. julis within the state. To determine T. julis distribution, grain field sites throughout the Willamette Valley were located for sampling of CLB larvae. Larvae were collected regularly for dissection and parasitism assessment. Widespread recovery of T. julis was found in 2006 with exceptionally high PRs, including locations where it had not been previously released. The peak PRs of T. julis found in each CLB-positive county tested were as follows: Benton (100 percent), Clackamas (84 percent), Jefferson (2 percent), Lane (76 percent), Linn (100 percent), Multnomah (67 percent), Union (98 percent), Washington (100 percent), and Yamhill (100 percent).
We also examined T. julis phenology and changes in CLB PRs over time. CLB larvae were collected weekly from three sites each in three different counties known to have high PRs for T. julis. Results generally showed a maximum PR of approximately 50 percent around mid to late May, a drop to near zero in early June, and a second PR peak of 100 percent in mid to late June. This data suggests that the first half of June is a poor time to collect CLB larvae for redistribution of T. julis, even from known, heavily parasitized fields.
High PRs in some areas made 2006 the first year that T. julis was collected entirely from Oregon and moved for redistribution within the state. OSU’s insectary field at the Central Oregon Agricultural Research Center in Madras, Jefferson County, was the only one that received T. julis for release, and additional adult CLB were released to increase CLB numbers in the field. Larvae with T. julis were also released in a few local growers’ fields in Central Oregon. Recovery success and a high PR at the Hyslop insectary led to no T. julis releases made there, although adult CLB were added to the site to boost CLB numbers for the parasitoids. There was no activity at the OSU insectary site in Union County and it will likely be discontinued in 2007 due to the widespread success of T. julis in Union and Baker counties. Additionally, 2006 marked the first year for T. julis release into Umatilla County. The number of CLB larvae (and estimated number of T. julis) released in each county in 2006 is: Jefferson, 4,750 (20,500); Linn, 1,000 (4,800); Umatilla, 3,500 (16,425); Union, 50 (240). The parasitism rates among CLB release material from all areas ranged from 28 percent to 98 percent.
A pesticide usage survey by USDA indicated that likely due to our biological control effort and perhaps other factors, the acres treated with pesticides continued to decrease in 2006 to 20,554 acres.
2006 cereal leaf beetle survey map
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| Cherry bark tortrix |
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In 2006, 994 traps for cherry bark tortrix (CBT), Enarmonia formosana, traps were placed in nine counties in northwest Oregon. In Multnomah and Clackamas counties, 772 traps were set around the previously infested (epicenter) areas to delimit the continuous spread and distribution of CBT. Detection traps were also placed in most adjacent counties. In 2006, 1,962 moths were trapped in the Portland metro area of Multnomah and Clackamas counties. Nine moths were also caught in Silverton, Marion County, where a single CBT moth was first trapped in 2003. To date, three counties—Clackamas, Marion and Multnomah remain the only CBT-positive counties in Oregon.
ODA’s cooperative project with Washington State University (WSU) continued in 2006. Effort was focused on the recovery of the egg parasitoid, Trichogramma cacoeciae, after several years of continued releases. Trichogramma was found parasitizing the CBT eggs in previously released areas, which indicates that the egg parasitoid is now established although still at a very low level.
ODA also cooperated with WSU and the USDA ARS Lab in Wapato, Washington to conduct trials to find effective nematodes as biocontrol agents. Trials were conducted in Seattle during the last two years with promising results and were extended to the Portland epicenter area in early October 2006. The nematodes have shown some effects.
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| Cherry ermine moth |
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Cherry ermine moth (CEM), Yponomeuta padellus, was trapped in 2005 as a non-target species in a dark fruit tree tortrix trap. The moth was sent to USDA’s Otis Pest Survey, Detection, and Exclusion Lab and confirmed positive by DNA analysis. Survey technicians placed 30 cherry ermine moth traps in a delimitation grid around the 2005 positive site in Multnomah County in 2006. In addition, one trap each was placed in Clackamas and Washington counties. No CEMs were detected in 2006.
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| Emerald ash borer |
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In 2006, visual surveys continued for emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis. Native to Asia, this woodborer attacks true ashes (Fraxinus spp.) and causes 100 percent mortality of infested trees. This serious pest is now established in Michigan (2002), Ontario, Canada (2002), Ohio (2003), Indiana (2004) and Illinois (2006).
As effective traps are not currently available, 2,304 ash trees were visually surveyed for EAB damage at 979 sites in 27 counties. Public education continues to be an important factor in detecting EAB and other invasive species. An ODA press release on September 6, 2006, highlighted the threat posed by EAB and Asian longhorned beetle and encouraged anyone seeing possible signs of EAB to contact ODA. No EABs have been found to date in Oregon.
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| European poplar shoot borer |
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European poplar shoot borer, Gypsonoma aceriana
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The European poplar shoot borer (EPSB), Gypsonoma aceriana, is a known pest of poplars, including hybrid varieties, at times infesting up to 90 percent of growing tips. Older larvae bore into terminal shoots creating gall-like formations. It was first discovered in North America in 1998 in the Seattle port area in Washington as a non-target in a light trap. Subsequent surveys have shown that most of western Washington is generally infested with EPSB from the Canadian border to the Columbia River. With the likelihood of finding EPSB in Oregon, a small trapping program was initiated in 2006 to detect EPSB mainly in the Portland area along the Columbia River.
Fifteen diamond traps, 14 in the greater Portland area and one in Salem, using low-volume glue and baited with EPSB pheromone lures, were placed in poplar trees in mid-July and removed in late August. Seventeen moths from five sites were trapped. These are the first records of this species in Oregon. EPSB is now known from Marion and Multnomah counties. Positive identification was confirmed by genitalia dissection and analysis.
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| European wireworms |
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The larvae, or wireworms, of two species of European click beetles (Elateridae), Agriotes lineatus, and A. obscurus, are among the most destructive pests of spring-planted seeds in Europe, destroying seeds, roots, and root and tuber crops.
In 2006, the goal was to delimit the infestations at two positive nurseries in Clackamas County and the single positive nursery in Multnomah County. A total of 100 traps were placed within circles of ½ mile radius centered on each nursery. The number of trap sites per delimitation circle ranged from 14 to 17. Four traps were placed at each nursery and two traps were placed at each delimitation trap site outside of a nursery. Trap placement, checking, and lure replacement protocols were those of previous years. Six A. obscurus were trapped, two at one Clackamas County nursery, one at the other nursery in that county, and three at the Multnomah County nursery. A single A. lineatus was trapped at the Multnomah County nursery. Only two European wireworms were trapped outside the immediate premises of the nurseries: one each A. lineatus and A. obscurus at a site ~⅓ mile south of the Multnomah County nursery. The absence of these exotic species outside the immediate environs of the nurseries suggests that both species were recently introduced into those sites via nursery stock.
Researchers from Oregon State University trapping in organic potato fields found one A. lineatus in Lake Oswego, Clackamas County (a new county record for this species), and two A. lineatus in Sauvie Island, Multnomah County. Identification of the specimens was confirmed by ODA’s taxonomic entomologist.
No surveys for European wireworms are planned by IPPM for 2007.
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| Exotic wood boring insects (EWBI) |
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Since foreign and domestic timber and wood products continue to be imported into the Pacific Northwest, surveys for exotic wood boring and wood-associated beetles and wasps were conducted in 2006, as in prior years. Unlike past years, no survey for general exotic wood boring insects was performed. Instead the survey focused on exotic wood boring insect pests that attack pines. Target pests include pine shoot beetle, Tomicus piniperda, Mediterranean pine engraver (MPE), Orthotomicus erosus, red-haired bark beetle (RHBB), Hylurgus ligniperda, and the European wood wasp, Sirex noctilio (SN). A modest delimiting survey for an eastern North American species of ash-attacking bark beetle, the northern ash bark beetle (NABB), Hylesinus criddlei, found for the first time in the western US in 2005 at Hermiston, was also conducted. Lindgren funnel traps with various lures were used for all surveys. An ultraviolet (UV or “black light”) light trap was used to survey a single “hot zone” site for exotic defoliating and stem/twig boring insects (especially moths) that might also be transported via wood products and packing materials, as well as associated commodities.
EWBI—Northern ash bark beetle survey
Eight traps baited with endobrevicomin (a semiochemical shown to be attractive to NABB) were placed in Hermiston in April and early May for detection and delimitation of NABB. These traps were active through mid-October. No NABB were found. There are no plans to survey for NABB in 2007.
EWBI—UV light trapping for wood borers and defoliators
The Oregon Zoo in Portland was selected for UV-light trapping because of the concentration of plant materials imported past and present. One intersecting panel UV bucket-style light trap, powered by a rechargeable 12 volt DC battery, was set at intervals corresponding to the new moon phase from April through September. The trap was run overnight twice during each sampling interval. All samples have been at least preliminarily processed. The 2006 samples yielded no exotic species new to Oregon. While no new or target species, the samples, on average, consisted of approximately 20 percent well-established exotic species.
EWBI—Pine attacking pests
Female Sirex noctilio, European wood wasp.
Fifty-four sites in nine counties, mainly in Western Oregon, were trapped for pine shoot beetle (PSB) (as well as its congeners, T. destruens and T. minor) from mid-November (2005) through early June 2006, utilizing a five-component lure. No PSB or other Tomicus spp. were detected. There are no plans to survey specifically for PSB in 2007.
Seventy-five traps each for the Mediterranean pine engraver (MPE) and the red-haired bark beetle (RHBB) were placed in western Oregon. Traps for these species were placed in February and March and remained active until mid-October. No MPE or RHBB were detected. Surveys for MPE and RHBB, focusing on eastern Oregon, are planned for 2007.
Eighty-two traps for Sirex noctilio (SN) were placed in Western Oregon, many at the same sites trapped for PSB, MPE, or RHBB. SN traps were placed in June and were active through mid-October. They were baited with a blend of alpha- and beta-pinene. No SN were detected. Survey for SN, focusing on eastern Oregon, is planned for 2007.
EWBI—Delimitation survey in The Dalles
Several non-native ambrosia beetles were collected in The Dalles during 2004 (the pinhole borer, Euplatypus compositus, Monarthrum fasciatum, M. mali, and the granulate ambrosia beetle, Xylosandrus crassiusculus). The sources of these wood borers were raw railroad ties (primarily oak and hickory) imported from the southeastern USA. These species pose risks to Oregon agriculture, particularly the fruit and nursery industries. Traps on the tie plant premises and in the immediate vicinity (about 25) were maintained from mid-fall until the beginning of the 2006 trapping season to detect any granulate ambrosia beetle activity during winter warm spells. The full array of 195 delimitation traps was restored in March 2006. As in 2005, two UV-light traps were deployed on plant premises from July through early October because of the risk of red oak borer (Cerambycidae: Enaphalodes rufulus) coming in with the oak ties from the Southeast. Protocols were similar to those for past EWBI surveys.
EWBI—Eradication treatments in The Dalles
The collection of a significant number of X. crassiusculus, E. compositus, M. fasciatum, and M. mali in 2005 led to development, in cooperation with local industry and government leaders, of an eradication plan for these species in The Dalles. Two treatments were performed during 2005, and a single treatment of 860 acres in and near the railroad tie treatment facility in The Dalles was performed in early April 2006. During this third application only potential host plants were treated as no raw rail ties from the southeastern US remained. An important component of the eradication effort was the willingness of the tie plant to immediately begin treatment of the raw hardwood ties from the Southeast. The tie plant also developed more stringent criteria for the quality of ties that it would accept. In addition, the tie plant voluntarily ceased importation of any further raw ties from the Southeast, pending development of an effective insecticidal prophylactic or eradicative technique.
EWBI—2006 results
Female Tremex columba, the pigeon tremex.
All samples from The Dalles detection and delimitation traps and all trap samples for pests attacking pines have been processed. A total of 40,587 Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Curculionidae: Scolytinae (Coleoptera), Sesiidae (Lepidoptera), Siricidae, and Xiphydriidae (Hymenoptera) were identified in 2006 (including those from The Dalles delimitation traps).
25,550 specimens of wood borers were identified from traps for the pine attacking wood borers. Although these traps did not yield any of the primary target species, several other nonindigenous species never before trapped in Oregon resulted. A single specimen of what may be an eastern US species of bark beetle, Carphoborus bifurcus, was found in an RHBB trap in Springfield, but this identification has not yet been confirmed. A single specimen of a common eastern North American cerambycid, the rustic borer, Xylotrechus colonus, was found in a RHBB trap at a wood recycling plant in Portland. A single specimen of an eastern North American wood wasp (Siricidae), the pigeon tremex, Tremex columba, was found in an MPE trap at a customs bonded warehouse in Portland. At this time, it is unknown whether any of these species are established. Delimitation efforts for T. columba are being considered for 2007. MPE and RHBB traps provided two new sites, both in southwestern Clackamas county, for Xylosandrus germanus, an exotic ambrosia beetle that is established in eastern North America and several localities in the Portland metro area and eastern Clackamas County.
A total of 15,037 wood borers were identified from The Dalles traps in 2006. No nonindigenous target species, i.e., E. compositus, M. fasciatum, M. mali, or X. crassiusculus, were found. Trap catches in general were markedly reduced (for example, the total wood borers trapped at The Dalles in 2005 exceeded 55,000). Catches of specific common species were reduced by as much as 80 percent. Whether this was a consequence of eradication efforts or some other cause is uncertain. A single specimen of an eastern North American wood wasp (Xiphydriidae), Xiphydria maculata, was found in a trap near the western margin of the delimitation zone. It is unknown whether this species is established. Several specimens of the banded elm bark beetle, Scolytus schevyrewi, were also found in delimitation traps. In conjunction with specimens found in 2005, there is clearly an established population of this species in The Dalles, which is currently the westernmost known locale for this species in the Pacific Northwest.
The 2006 UV-light trapping at the Oregon Zoo in Portland yielded no exotic species new to Oregon.
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| Early detection and rapid response of exotic wood borers (EDRR) |
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The chances of eradicating or effectively controlling a newly introduced exotic species are greatly increased if it is detected soon after its introduction. Formerly referred to as the Rapid Detection of Exotic Scolytidae Pilot Project (RDESPP), this project is now known as the Early Detection and Rapid Response program (EDRR).
The Oregon EDRR survey for 2006 focused on sites at high risk of importation of exotic wood borers via solid-wood packing material (SWPM), a known pathway for introduction of exotic woodboring insects. Twelve sites in northwestern Oregon were selected for survey based upon their documented importation of large volumes of SWPM. Three funnel traps, baited respectively with the following lures, were placed at these sites: ethanol, UHR alpha-pinene and ethanol lures together, and a three-component lure targeting exotic species of Ips. Samples were taken every two weeks and processed by IPPM staff.
All specimens from the following families were identified to species: Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, Curculionidae: Scolytinae (Coleoptera), Sesiidae (Lepidoptera), Siricidae and Xiphydriidae (Hymenoptera). All samples have been processed, with a total of 5,109 woodboring insects identified, including 78 species (Buprestidae—12 species, Cerambycidae—28 species, Scolytinae—34 species, Siricidae—four species). A single specimen of the locust borer, Megacyllene robiniae (Cerambycidae), was trapped in an industrial area of north Portland, in Multnomah County. This eastern North American species became established in eastern Oregon many years ago. This is the first Oregon record from west of the Cascades. The previous westernmost record was from Cascade Locks (Hood River County). It is not known whether this specimen represents an established population. Delimitation efforts for this pest are planned for 2007.
Locust borer, Megacyllene robiniae
The following activities were conducted under EDRR auspices since they met the mission statement of “early detection and rapid response” to exotic wood borers. On September 25, 2006, a worker at a small industrial firm found a live Tremex woodwasp (Siricidae) in a container of crates of metal castings from China. Because this business had been visited earlier in the year by ODA staff conducting interviews of businesses importing goods from China, workers were aware of the concerns about exotic wood borers. There are no Tremex native to the West Coast and the sole North American species is not known to be established here. Subsequent inspection of several crates yielded an apparently recently dead ground beetle (Carabidae) in the genus Calosoma, as well as a dead male Tremex. Consequently, with the full cooperation of the importer, a joint inspection of many of the crates by ODA staff and a member of USDA-APHIS-PPQ was conducted. Attempts to cover the many galleries of wood borers with wood putty had been made at the point of origin. Numerous dead adult Tremex were extracted from galleries, as were several live and healthy pupae. A live and healthy clearwing moth larva was also found in a gallery (ironically, on the other side of the plank was the stamp indicating that this crate had been fumigated to IPPC standards with methyl bromide). Several recently dead specimens of a leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae) were also found in the crates, and a live specimen was extracted from a wood borer gallery.
The Tremex adults were submitted to Nathan Schiff, USDA Forest Service (Stoneville, MS) for genetic analysis. He concluded that these Tremex specimens were not of North American origin. Unfortunately, the state of Asian Tremex taxonomy is poor and it is not possible to append any specific epithet to these specimens at this time. This is unfortunate, as one exotic species, T. fuscicornis, has proven to be very damaging to hardwoods in Chile. Regrettably, it was decided by APHIS-PPQ to kill and preserve the clearwing moth larva, so the chances of a specific determination are remote at best. The Calosoma and leaf beetle specimens are clearly not species known from the West—whether they are of North American or Chinese origins is currently unknown. Further identifications are pending. Several subsequent shipments from the Chinese exporter have also been found to have live siricids in the crating. It is not known whether the Chinese Tremex species has established in Portland. Delimitation efforts for 2007 are planned.
This incident demonstrates unequivocally that the new IPPC protocols and agreements cannot be completely relied upon to protect North America from the importation and possible establishment of exotic wood boring insects. It also demonstrates the value of alerting and educating the public as to the risks posed by such pests and the pathways through which they can enter our country. Finally, this incident underscores the continuing need for survey programs such as EDRR and the development of taxonomic infrastructure, both domestically and abroad, to support those programs.
EDRR—Taxonomic support to other states
Since the inception of the EDRR project, IPPM has provided taxonomic support to other western region states lacking expertise with the target taxa. This support continued in 2006 to Idaho, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington. No confirmed new records for exotic woodboring insects were found in the samples forwarded to IPPM, although a single specimen of a buprestid from a trap in Cedar City, Utah, has so far eluded identification. According to IPPM’s emeritus taxonomist, Richard Westcott, a world expert on Buprestidae, it appears to be either an undescribed indigenous species or a previously unrecognized exotic species. Final determination must await comparisions with museum material from Europe and Asia. Plans to acquire more specimens via a delimitation survey are being considered for 2007.
Limited taxonomic resources for wood borer identification was identified early as the resource limiting the expansion of the EDRR project from pilot to operational status. To address this challenge, EDRR taxonomists have developed screening aids using PowerPoint® to enable nontaxonomists to recognize and screen out the most abundant non-target species (which can make up as much as 95 percent of the specimens in samples) as well as to recognize and identify, at least provisionally, target species. This enables taxonomists to focus on the relatively few remaining specimens so that important exotic species are not missed. Because of regional faunal differences, each screening aid was tailored for a particular region. The IPPM digital imaging system and staff were fundamental to the successful production and implementation of the screening aids. Workshops on scolytine identification were held at Cornell University, Virginia Tech, and at the IPPM Salem facilities. The latter two focused on the use of the screening aids developed for each region by IPPM staff. Participants at these workshops were from various agencies and institutions, including state extension, USDA APHIS and Forest Service, and universities.
EDRR—North American Siricidae field guide and LUCID key
The discovery of an established population of Sirex noctilio in New York and Ontario (Canada) in 2005 led to the recognition of the extremely limited taxonomic resources for siricid identification and the awareness that these were inadequate to support national surveys for this important pest. IPPM staff began collaboration with USDA Forest Service entomologists to develop a “hard copy” guide for the North American Siricidae and a LUCID image-based key to this family. Using our advanced digital imaging system, IPPM has provided high quality images for this project. The hard copy guide is complete and will be available in early 2007.
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Please see the next page for a continuation of Section Three: IPPM Section which includes:
Grasshopper and mormon cricket
Gypsy moth
Hecatera dysodea
Imported fire ant and other exotic ants
Japanese beetle
Nun moth
Oriental beetle
Potato tuberworm
Rosy gypsy moth
Siberian moth
Summer fruit tortrix
Miscellaneous insect identification and new records
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