Country: United States

Title:

Lymantria dispar (Spongy Moth): APHIS Adds Lake and Whitley Counties, Indiana to the Quarantine Area.

Contact:
Kathryn Bronsky, National Policy Manager, at kathryn.e.brosnky@usda.gov or (301) 851-2147.

Report:

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is adding Lake and Whitley Counties in Indiana to the list of quarantine areas for spongy moth (formerly known as gypsy moth). The moth populations in these counties have reached the threshold to trigger the quarantine expansion.

To prevent further spread of spongy moth, a Federal Order provides notification that APHIS is adding Lake and Whitley Counties in Indiana to the regulated area. Effective immediately, all interstate movement of regulated articles from Lake and Whitley Counties must be handled in accordance with 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 301.45. Indiana has established a parallel state quarantine.

Spongy Moth is a highly destructive insect of approximately 300 species of trees and shrubs. The Spongy Moth Program prescribes conditions for the interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantine areas. The federal and state partnership limits the establishment of the moth outside the quarantine area that would result from human-assisted movement of the pest. We appreciate the cooperative relationship with Indiana in the effort to limit the spread of spongy moth.

The full lists designating spongy moth quarantine areas and regulated articles are published on the APHIS website at: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/sa_insects/spongy-moth/ 

Under IPPC standards, Lymantria dispar is a pest that is present: not widely distributed and subject to official control in the United States.
 

Posted Date: Aug. 14, 2023, 4:05 p.m.