Latest Agricultural pest insects Stories
Non-native, wood-boring insects such as the emerald ash borer and the Asian longhorned beetle are costing an estimated $1.7 billion in local government expenditures and approximately $830 million in lost residential property values every year, according to study by a research team that included scientists with the U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station. The research effort was funded by The Nature Conservancy and supported by the University of California / Santa Barbara's National...
Homeowners and taxpayers are picking up most of the tab for damages caused by invasive tree-feeding insects that are inadvertently imported along with packing materials, live plants, and other goods. That's the conclusion of a team of biologists and economists, whose research findings are reported in the journal PLoS One last week. The authors explain that non-native, wood-boring insects such as the emerald ash borer and the Asian longhorned beetle exact an estimated $1.7 billion in...
A six-year campaign to control invasive winter moths with a natural parasite led by entomologist Joe Elkinton of the University of Massachusetts Amherst now has concrete evidence that a parasitic fly, Cyzenis albicans, has been established and is attacking the pest at four sites in Seekonk, Hingham, Falmouth and Wellesley. It’s the beginning of the end for the decade-long defoliation of eastern Massachusetts trees by the invasive species, Elkinton says. The researchers marked an...
Wood-Boring Pest Now in Neighboring States, Could Threaten Hardwoods Industry ROCK SPRINGS, Pa., Aug. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Agriculture Secretary George Greig today asked the public to help keep the Asian Longhorned Beetle from entering the state, saying the non-native, invasive wood-boring pest could severely harm Pennsylvania's $25 billion hardwoods industry. "The Asian Longhorned Beetle has not yet been found in Pennsylvania, but if it is allowed to enter it could pose a...
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- May is National Moving Month, and if you are one of the estimated 40 million people who move in a given year, there is one more critical thing you can do before closing the moving-van door. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/CG89823LOGO) Don't make a move until you check for the gypsy moth. The federal government is joining with the moving industry to urge those planning to relocate to help stop the spread of this invasive culprit...
WOBURN, Mass., April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Many states now have a new tool in their pest management arsenal; today Arborjet (http://www.arborjet.com) announced that TREE-age® insecticide received expanded label approval from the EPA to control several invasive species such as Western Pine Beetle, Mountain Pine Beetle and other associated Engraver Beetles. For a full list of insect species covered and states where TREE-age is registered, please visit: http://www.arborjet.com....
Non-native insects and diseases can spread by traveling on wood packaging and other untreated wood ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A collaboration of diverse interests aimed at addressing the threat of non-native insects and diseases is urging the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to subject wood packaging material from Canada to the same requirements other countries must follow for this material before it can enter the country. Currently, the...
An imported shipment of rice was intercepted at Los Angeles International Airport that contained one of the world's most destructive grain and seed pests, US Customs officials said Wednesday. US Customs and Border Protection said the so-called Khapra beetle was discovered last week in a shipment of Indian rice arriving from Saudi Arabia. The shipment was quarantined and destroyed. Entomologists from the Department of Agriculture identified the pests as Khapra beetles, which are among the most...
By Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, University of Central FloridaForeign pests are eating their way through our national forests, destroying majestic scenery and costing taxpayers millions of dollars.If enforcement efforts to prevent their importation aren't stepped up, irreplaceable resources will be lost forever and taxpayers can expect to fork over billions of dollars more by 2019, according to a comprehensive study published today in BioScience. Researchers at the University of California at...
Combining pest-resistant cotton with the controlled release of sterile pink bollworm moths, a UA-led initiative has virtually rid Arizona of one the world's most damaging cotton pestsUsing pests as part of an insect birth control program helps to get rid of them, UA researchers find. A new approach that combines the planting of pest-resistant cotton and releasing large numbers of sterile moths has virtually eliminated of the world's most destructive cotton pests from Arizona.The novel control...
Latest Agricultural pest insects Reference Libraries
The Agrotis infusa or Bogong moth is a species of nocturnal moth that in spring will swarm in great numbers around public buildings in Canberra, Australia. They are commonly found in Southern parts of Australia featuring a wingspan of one and three quarters inches and are brown or black in color with stout bodies covered with long thick scales. Larvae are often called cutworms and feed on a variety of plants of which they "cut" pieces and carry them back to their burrows for food. Adult...
The Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella), is a member of the Lepidopteran family Tortricidae. They are known as an agricultural pest, their larva being the common apple worm. It is originally native to Europe but was introduced to North America, where it has become one of the regular pests of apple orchards. Now it is found nearly worldwide. It also is a pest against pears, walnuts, and other tree fruits. The codling moth is grayish with light gray and copper stripes on its wings, and has an...
PHOTO CAPTION: Goliath Beetle Beetles are one of the main groups of insects. Their order, Coleoptera (meaning "sheathed wing"), has more species than any other order in the entire animal kingdom. Forty percent of all described insect species are beetles (about 350,000 species), and new species are regularly discovered. Estimates put the total number of species at between 5 and 8 million. When J. B. S. Haldane, a British geneticist, was asked what his studies of nature revealed about...
The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a moth of European origin. Life cycle Gypsy moth egg masses are laid on branches and trunks of trees, however egg masses may be found in any sheltered location. Egg masses are buff colored when first laid but may bleach out over the winter months when exposed to direct sunlight and weathering. The hatching of gypsy moth eggs coincides with budding of most hardwood trees. Larvae emerge from egg masses from early spring through mid-May. Larvae...
The larva of the moth Helicoverpa zea is a major agricultural pest for cotton (where it is known as the cotton bollworm), corn (where it is known as the corn earworm), tomatoes (where it is the tomato fruitworm), and many other crops. The adult moth, pictured here is a pollinator. It is very cosmopolitan in what plants it will use as larval food.
