Official Pest Report
Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.
Detection of Sirex noctilio Fabricius (Sirex woodwasp) in Macomb County, Michigan – United States
Detection of Sirex noctilio Fabricius (Sirex woodwasp) in Macomb County, Michigan – United States
Country: United States
Title: Detection of Sirex noctilio Fabricius (Sirex woodwasp) in Macomb County, Michigan – United States
Contact:
Lynn Evans-Goldner, <em>Sirex noctilio</em> National Program Coordinator, 301.734.7228
Report:
On July 10, 2007, USDA confirmed the detection of a single female Sirex noctilio woodwasp in Macomb County, Michigan. This pest was collected on July 6, 2007, from a trap placed as part of cooperative State and Federal S. noctilio survey efforts. No additional S. noctilio woodwasps have been detected in traps within a 20 mile radius of this positive detection and no obvious signs of tree decline that might be associated with this pest were observed.
Cooperative State and Federal S. noctilio survey activities will continue in Michigan through the summer and early fall of 2007, as will trap tree survey activities being conducted by the U.S. Forest Service in the State. The survey area within Michigan is part of a multi-State detection survey for S. noctilio that is ongoing in high risk areas throughout the United States.
Sirex noctilio is an exotic species of wood-boring wasp capable of causing significant mortality in healthy species of pine trees. This pest is present in some parts of the United States. Sirex noctilio was positively confirmed in 25 counties in New York and 2 counties in Pennsylvania. APHIS is currently considering its regulatory options to address S. noctilio.
APHIS’s Plant Protection and Quarantine is working with the States of Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania and other unaffected States with significant pine tree resources to prevent the further spread of this harmful forest pest. To this end, PPQ’s Center for Plant Health Science and Technology plans to conduct a second pilot study of a promising biological control agent against S. noctilio using the nematode, Beddingia siricidicola, in the fall of 2007.
Under IPPC standards, Sirex noctilio is considered to be a pest that is present (localized in Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania) and subject to official control in the United States.
Posted Date: July 27, 2007, 9 a.m.