Country: United States

Title: Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) in Wayne County, Missouri – United States

Contact:
Paul Chaloux, Acting EAB National Program Manager, (301) 734-0917

Report: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the identification of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), in Wayne County, Missouri, on July 25, 2008. This is the first detection of EAB in the State of Missouri.

On July 23, 2008, an employee with APHIS’ Plant Protection and Quarantine program collected seven suspected EAB specimens from a purple prism trap placed in the Greenville Campground of the Lake Wappapello Army Corps of Engineers Recreational Area in Wayne County, Missouri. The trap was placed at this location as part of the EAB National Survey, which targets high risk-sites for EAB trapping in 48 States. Wayne County, Missouri is located within the southeast corner of Missouri, in close proximity to the Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas borders.

In response to this detection, APHIS is working closely with the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) to carryout delimiting surveys around the initial detection site. APHIS is also coordinating with representatives of the Missouri State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Missouri. Effective immediately, all interstate movement of EAB-regulated articles from Wayne County must be performed in accordance with the Federal Order. Specifically, the interstate movement of EAB-host wood and wood products from Wayne County is regulated, including firewood of all hardwood species, nursery stock, green lumber, waste, compost, and chips of ash species. The Federal Order allows Missouri 30 days from August 8, 2008, to place an equivalent parallel quarantine in place for EAB; otherwise, it will be necessary to quarantine the entire State as an EAB-quarantined area.

Recently, an EAB infestation was newly detected in Fairfax County in northern Virginia. The entire county is now a Federal quarantine area for EAB; however, the State of Virginia has expanded its intrastate phytosanitary regulations to include adjacent counties as a precautionary measure. APHIS has expanded the Federal EAB quarantine area in Virginia to parallel the State’s quarantine. Currently, the entire States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois are quarantine areas for EAB, together with portions of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the entirety of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, and Prince George’s County in Maryland. Five counties in western Pennsylvania are also quarantined EAB areas.

Under IPPC standards, Agrilus planipennis is considered to be a pest that is present in some parts of the United States, but is subject to official control to prevent further spread.
 

Posted Date: Aug. 14, 2008, 9 a.m.