Light brown apple moth detected in Oregon

From the Oregon Department of Agriculture

01/18/2011

The Oregon Department of Agriculture has confirmed a single detection of light brown apple moth, marking the first time the insect pest has been found in the state. However, ODA officials emphasize there is no evidence that a breeding population of the moth exists in Oregon, and that the insect most likely came in with imported nursery stock. The single light brown apple moth (LBAM) was found in a trap last summer located in a Polk County nursery. In 2010, ODA placed 1,000 traps for LBAM throughout the state. No other moths were caught in the area or elsewhere in Oregon. The screening and identification of exotic moths from these traps can take months and the suspect specimen has just been confirmed. "So far, the evidence points to a hitchhiker moth that arrived at the Polk County nursery with plant material shipped into Oregon," says Helmuth Rogg, manager of ODA's Insect Pest Prevention and Management Program. "Considering we had two traps at the nursery that were checked twice over the summer, catching only one specimen indicates this is not an established population of the moth. A thousand other LBAM traps across the state were also negative." The light brown apple moth was first detected in the continental US in 2007 when it was found in California's Bay Area. LBAM is native to Australia, where it is considered a serious pest in fruit orchards, if not managed. The detection in Oregon is the first time LBAM has been found in the continental US outside of California. The pest has been established in Hawaii. "A single moth catch is no indicator of an established population, so no regulatory action is necessary at this time," says Rogg. "However, this detection points to the effectiveness and importance of ODA's early warning system that helps us detect an insect pest invasion early. California's experience shows how important it is to catch these kinds of invaders early on so it is possible to prevent pests from moving in. Also, it is much more economic to invest in a good surveillance and early detection system than waiting until a new pest has fully established, and then try to eradicate it." To ensure the LBAM detection in Oregon is an isolated incident, ODA will place a high concentration of traps in an around the Polk County nursery starting as early as February, depending on the weather. The pheromone traps are very specific for LBAM and are similar to what ODA uses for gypsy moth detection. ODA officials emphasize that Oregon nursery stock and all other agricultural commodities are not impacted by the single LBAM detection.

USDA Pledges Millions For Light Brown Apple Moth Eradication

Elizabeth Larson
Capital Press

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is stepping up its efforts to fight the light brown apple moth, announcing last week that it intends to offer a five-fold increase in funds for the moth's eradication program.

In a statement released Jan. 24, then-acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner said USDA would make available $74.5 million in emergency funding to continue efforts in California to stop the moth's spread.

USDA provided $15 million in emergency funding last August. California Department of Food and Agriculture and USDA have continued working cooperatively on surveillance, trapping and treatment, USDA reported.

In the statement Conner said those efforts have contained the moth in the initial quarantine area, which resulted in lifting control quarantine restrictions in two of the 12 infected California counties.

While the intensive eradication effort will still remain largely centered in California - where the moths were confirmed last March in the Bay Area - USDA spokesman Larry Hawkins said plans for 2008 include a 50-state national detection survey to verify that light brown apple moth is not present anywhere else in the continental United States.

USDA reported that it plans to target nursery stock in that survey, along with orchards and urbanized areas with ornamental plantings that are attractive to the light brown apple moth.

Hawkins did not have a cost breakdown for how much of the USDA emergency funding would go to the survey and how much would be spent in California.

USDA emphasized the need to eradicate the moth because of its wide host list, including more than 2,000 plant species, as well as its threats to California's natural environment - including its redwood and cypress tree populations.

The difference in funding for 2008 will allow eradication treatments to broaden significantly. Hawkins said pheromone twist-ties applied to trees and bushes will increase, a treatment that he said is labor-intensive because they have to be placed by hand.

CDFA and USDA also announced last week a range of other new treatment options in addition to those already in use, including use of a male attractant and introduction of tiny Trichogramma wasps that lay their eggs in light brown apple moth eggs.