2009 CAPS Pest List

The Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project is part of the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS), a partnership between all 50 states and the USDA to detect and monitor exotic pests, pathogens and weeds. Each fall, the Massachusetts CAPS Committee, with members from the Mass. Department of Agricultural Resources, USDA APHIS-PPQ, UMass Extension, and non-governmental organizations with a stake in the state's agricultural resources, meets in order to decide which pests will be the focus of the next year's survey and outreach efforts. The 2009 CAPS pest list for Massachusetts is below, with species ranked in order of importance. Over the next couple of months we will add fact sheets for any species that does not already have one.

Rank	Scientific Name	Common Name	Organism Type
1	Phytophthora ramorum	Sudden oak death, Ramorum blight	pathogen
2	Anoplophora glabripennis	Asian longhorned beetle	insect
3	Agrilus planipennis	Emerald ash borer	insect
4	Epiphyas postvittana	Light brown apple moth	insect
5	Potyvirus	Plum Pox Virus, PPV	pathogen
6	Puccinia horiana	Chrysanthemum white rust	pathogen
7	Adoxophyes orana	Summer fruit tortrix moth	insect
8	Anoplophora chinensis	Rough shouldered longhorned beetle, Citrus longhorned beetle	insect
9	Monochamus alternatus	Japanese pine sawyer	insect
10	Lobesia botrana	European grape vine moth	insect
11	Lymantria dispar (Asian strain)	Asian gypsy moth	insect
12	Lymantria mathura	Pink gypsy moth	insect
13	Spodoptera litura	Cotton cutworm	insect
14	Spodoptera littoralis	Egyptian cottonworm	insect
15	Puccinia hemerocallidis	Daylily rust	pathogen
16	Globodera rostochiensis	Golden nematode	nematode
17	Globodera pallida	Potato cyst nematode	nematode
18	Polygonum perfoliatum	Mile-a-minute vine	plant
19	Heracleum mantegazzianum	Giant hogweed	plant
20	Orobanche cernua, other non-native Orobanche spp.	Nodding broomrape	plant
21	Lepidium latifolium	Perennial pepperweed	plant

ALB Newsletter, Vol. 1, Issue 1

The first issue of the ALB Newsletter, which provides information about the latest Asian longhorned beetle news, links, events and volunteer opportunities in Massachusetts, is available here. If you would like to subscribe to this weekly newsletter, you can sign up for this and other pest alerts here.

New ALB Newsletter

Stay informed about all of the latest Asian longhorned beetle news with a new email newsletter from the Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project (MIPOP). The newsletter will report ALB-related happenings in our state, from news reports and updated maps to upcoming presentations and training opportunities.

To subscribe to the new MIPOP ALB newsletter, just go to our pest alerts signup page and select "Asian Longhorned Beetle." If you've already subscribed to our other pest alerts, just leave that part blank and they will remain unchanged. The newsletter will be weekly or bi-weekly, depending on how much news there is to report.

If your organization has timely ALB-related news that you would like to have included in the newsletter, email details here.

To report a potential Asian longhorned beetle sighting (adult beetles or damaged trees/firewood), use our online reporting form, or call 1-866-702-9938.

Spotting Asian longhorned beetle damage in winter

Update: Download these winter ALB ID tips in printable format with photos.

While the state and the federal government are actively surveying Massachusetts for invasive, wood boring beetles, it has always been the keen eye of a concerned citizen that discovers Asian longhorned beetle when it infests a new area. Asian longhorned beetles attack a variety of hardwood trees, particularly maple, birch, willow, poplar and elm. To date, more than 4000 infested trees have been found in the Worcester area, and all will need to be removed and replaced.

The egg-laying sites and exit holes along the trunk and branches of ALB-infested trees are not easily visible when the trees are in leaf. Now that branches are bare, you may be able to more easily spot damage. Some tips:

• Asian longhorned beetle adults lay their eggs in pits in the bark of the tree. Egg-laying sites, or "oviposition pits," are about 3/4 of an inch across, and look like when someone takes a bite out of an apple.
• The exit holes that the adults leave as they emerge from the tree are about 3/8 inch in diameter, and are perfectly round.
• If you see what looks like an exit hole, and you can reach it easily, see if you can fit the eraser end of a pencil into the hole, at least 1 inch deep.
• Try to figure out what kind of tree you are looking at. ALB likes hardwood trees, particularly maple, but stays away from oak and cherry. It does not attack conifers like pine or spruce.
• ALB typically leaves exit holes spread out across a tree, leaving room for each larva to develop. Series of round holes together in a line are more likely caused by woodpeckers or sapsuckers.

Report any suspicious tree damage to our website or hotline (1-866-702-9938). For more information about this pest, visit the Massachusetts Cooperative Eradication Program website.

A pile of wood from an infested maple tree
Two oviposition sites with an exit hole in between	Fresh oviposition site. Older oviposition site that is healing over.

Asian longhorned beetle damage on maple tree in Worcester, MA. Photos by P. Douglass, J. Forman Orth and M. Bohne.

Wood boring bark beetles ID Guide

A new key to the Wood Boring Beetles of the World is now available online. The key includes identification characters for ten different beetle families as well as fact sheets and many excellent photos. It was developed by the USDA/APHIS/PPQ Center for Plant Health Science and Technology (CPHST) using LUCID software, and required Java to run, so be patient and give it a chance to load the first time you use it.

Storm Emergency Update: ALB

The ice storm that just blasted parts of Massachusetts is impacting the Asian longhorned beetle regulated area (all of Worcester, and parts of the towns of Boylston, Holden, Shrewsbury and West Boylston) with tree damage, branch loss, and in some cases the loss of entire trees.

The ALB Cooperative Eradication Program is responding to this emergency by opening up the area's wood disposal site through December 14th:

Due to the significant amount of tree damage occuring right now, the USDA will keep the Ararat Street Disposal Site open from 8 am to 8 pm through Sunday December 14, 2008. All commercial contractors and municipal departments will have access. Requirements for vehicle decals and quarantine certificates are temporarily suspended for this weekend only. To mitigate the risk of artificial spread of the ALB infestation all wood regardless of species that cannot be chipped will be accepted at this site. Contractors and Municipalities are advised to continue chipping as much material as possible.

Additionally, the disposal site will remain open next week Monday through Saturday from 8 am to 5 pm. ALB Regulatory Compliance Program protocols will resume Monday December 15, 2008 at 8 am. Additional compliance training sessions will be held starting Monday morning to facilitate clean up efforts by companies not currently certified to work in the regulated area. Companies may call 508-799-8327 for information.

Residents should hire a landscape or tree company to dispose of large limbs or to bring wood to the Ararat Street Disposal Site. Residents should make use of normal yard waste drop off locations for brush and small branches. Tree damage to a confirmed infested tree that has been marked by program officials with a red dot should be reported to the ALB Program office at (508) 799-8330.

This storm is yet another reminder of the damage that Asian longhorned beetle has already done in our state. These wood-boring beetles weaken trees from the inside, making it less likely that trees can survive natural disturbances without suffering damage. Larvae remain active inside the wood for most of the winter. Care should be taken to dispose of fallen trees and branches properly, and any wood from potential host trees should never be taken from the regulated area.

For more information about this pest, visit the official Massachusetts ALB Cooperative Eradication Program website.

Winter moth mix

Male winter moth	Female winter moth

With nighttime temperatures about to rise above freezing again over the next few days, expect to see even more winter moths hovering around your porch lights. Entomologists are saying that winter moth populations are on the rebound this year, with populations larger than we've seen for a while. The insects you'll see fluttering about are all males. The females are practically wingless and spend their days on tree trunks or other surfaces, waiting for a male to mate with. Adult moths are mainly a nuisance right now - they do all of their damage in the caterpillar stage, as tiny green larvae that can be found munching on the leaf buds of cherry, crabapple and other trees in early spring.

True winter moths (Operophtera brumata) are thought to have been introduced to the USA from Europe around 2000. As with most invasive species, the winter moth situation is not a simple one. The Elkinton Lab at UMass Amherst has found evidence that the introduced moths have been hybridizing with a similar-looking but less common native species, the Bruce spanworm moth (Operophtera bruceata). The lab continues to study this phenomenon and the impact it could have on the native species as well as on efforts to establish a biological control for winter moths in our state.

Winter moth resources:

• Our winter moth fact sheet
  
• Recommended treatments from UMass Extension