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Invasive Species Archives |
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They're Here and They're HungryInvasive Species
 Things are not quite what they seem. That is the message behind the new ad campaign regarding invasive pests that launched in California earlier this week.
The illusion the campaign is attacking: that fruits or vegetables that look healthy are safe to bring into the state.
They're not.
The tiny pests that could be hitching a ride on them are nothing to mess with. They destroy fruit and vegetable crops, costing farmers and consumers billions of dollars in the process. With no natural predators to stop them, they also attack native plants, undermine biodiversity and upset ecosystems.
Yes, something so small and seemingly unassuming can be that dangerous.
A number of California agricultural and environmental organizations have banded together with USDA to form the Hungry Pests Coalition, the folks behind this new ad campaign. Together they're working to get the word out about the dangers of non-native, invasive pests and to take action to control those pests, to protect the trees, plants, gardens and parks they threaten and to limit the economic damage they can inflict.
The problem is real and immediate. Just a few days ago, a plant-sniffing Labrador named Chelsea working a FedEx facility in Fresno detected 10 Asian citrus psyllids in a duffel bag. The psyllids, found on curry leaves coming from India, carried the citrus greening disease, an incurable bacterial infection of citrus trees that results in green, misshapen, bitter fruit.
In areas of the world affected by citrus greening, the disease has seriously threatened or even wiped out citrus crops. Estimates put the potential impact of the disease in California at $224 million annually — 20 percent of total production — if it gets established.
And that's just the work of one pest.
Numerous others are inflicting their own brand of damage across the country. The European gypsy moth, soybean cyst nematode, emerald ash borer, Mediterranean fruit fly and many others all strike fear into the hearts of farmers, growers, foresters and entomologists. They should strike fear into your heart as well.
And a healthy fear should spur you to action. Educate yourself about the invasive species threatening your region — NAL's National Invasive Species Information Center is a great place to start — and don't move, ship or transport prohibited fruits, plants, seeds and animals, including firewood, either from infected areas or from abroad.
And if none of this has convinced you, watch the new TV spots from the Hungry Pests Coalition. The bugs crawling on your monitor just might do the trick.
Posted by Mary Ann Leonard
Added to Invasive Species on August 19, 2009
EST | Permalink
Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.
The visual parallel between a happy, carefree child and a swarm of food-destroying bugs strikes me as bizarre. Yes, it does get my attention, but I think the messages I carry away are "bugs are creepy" and "somebody thinks children are as creepy as bugs." |
Submitted by: wjcoats on October 5, 2009 07:31 PM
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The content of the Hungry Pests ad serves to scare and promote fear. It has no context, no specifics, no history. If it is meant to inform the public about the dangers of bringing foreign fruits and vegatables into California it fails miserably. On the other hand it is very useful in promoting a general sense of fear regarding insects. This is just what the USDA needs the next time it rolls out an ariel spraying program for the Light Brown Apple Moth or other insects over populated or near populated areas.
This is a perfect example of our corporately owned government working for the betterment of big business. Thank you USDA.
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Submitted by: G. Cunningham on October 16, 2009 07:38 PM
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Why don't they take all the ad money and bribe the environmental extremeist/activist jusdges to turn back on the central valley farming water pumps during growing season. The water stealing militant extremists hiding behind the name of conservation are doing way more damage to any crops. They are responsible for dc percent unemployment, generations and generations of family farms turning to "Dust bowels" and putting a 3 inch fish which was placed on the endangered species list with "fake science" over human pain and misery. these people need to be herded up and shipped to communist red china. |
Submitted by: Anonymous on November 1, 2009 02:00 AM
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Hungry Pests Campaign is a Fraud for Money.
Scientists and researchers found out that the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM):
1. Was not a threat to California crops.
2. Could not be eradicated since it was already widespread and living amongst people all through the state (and unnecessary to eradicate).
3. Pesticides of any kind applied over millions of people would impact human health, particularly infants, pregnant mothers and children, and the specific pesticide applied over 100's of thousands of people in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties was tested and found to be toxic.
It was embarrassing to the USDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) who had made the claims of significant danger of LBAM, that LBAM could be eradicated by aerial spray and that the pesticide was non-toxic to humans. More importantly to USDA and CDFA, LBAM represented billions of dollars flowing through their agencies and they would distribute the money through huge pesticide contracts to privileged corporate chemical companies.
So to sidestep the truth that scientist had revealed about LBAM and to insure that funds would flow for LBAM even though funds were unnecessary, or for other insects if the LBAM eradication program got stopped, the USDA created the Hungry Pests propaganda campaign.
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Submitted by: RobertW on November 11, 2009 03:25 AM
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This blog does not represent official communications from the National Agricultural Library, the Agricultural Research Service or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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Don't Destroy the Things You LoveInvasive Species
 Is Monday too soon to talk about the weekend? How about your upcoming vacation?
If you're going camping, or doing anything else that that calls for building a campfire, I've got a request:
Don't bring firewood from home.
Doing so puts some of the very things you love--trees and forests--at risk by potentially exposing them to deadly invasive species like the emerald ash borer or the Asian longhorned beetle.
Instead, get your firewood close to your destination to prevent those tree-killers from hitching a ride to a new source of food.
Believe me, the money saved is not worth the potential devestation to the trees themselves or to the plants and creatures that thrive in forest habitats.
Even if you're not the camping type, please spread the word to those who are.
And everyone, educate yourselves about these critters.
Visit the National Invasive Species Information Center, the U.S. Forest Service or the Don't Move Firewood Web sites.
Or jump right in to find out what's happening in your state.
Of course, if you prefer your lessons with a dose of humor, pop some popcorn and watch a few videos starring a certain ugly bug.
Just remember, the real emerald ash borers aren't so easy to spot or so benign. They're smaller than Lincoln on a U.S. penny, and they really pack a whallop.
Posted by Mary Ann Leonard
Added to Invasive Species on July 21, 2008
EST | Permalink
Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.
Greetings there. I just joined the site and it seems fascinating. |
Submitted by: annesky on July 23, 2008 07:00 AM
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This blog does not represent official communications from the National Agricultural Library, the Agricultural Research Service or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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Sour Oranges or Public Good?Invasive Species
, Plants and Crops
 What would you do if someone came into your yard uninvited and cut down one of your trees? What if that someone was the state and the tree one you've enjoyed the fruits of for many years?
Over the last decade or so, these questions have moved beyond the hypothetical for many Floridians.
In an effort to eradicate citrus canker, state agricultural crews destroyed infected trees, along with any additional citrus trees within 1,900 feet. Whether in orange groves or somebody's backyard, the trees were coming down -- over 16.5 million total (PDF |112 KB).
As the Washington Post reports today, some folks weren't too happy with that, leading to five separate class-action law suits. The key issue: whether the compensation received -- a $100 WalMart gift card for the first tree, $55 cash for the remainder -- was sufficient for trees that fed a family for years.
I can understand the reaction. I have a friend, a true native Floridian, whose ancestors first settled there in the 1860s, who says she never bought citrus until she came north for graduate school. She got her fruit from the trees in her backyard, or her neighbors' yards, knowing whom to visit for Florida lemons, calamondin oranges or sweet tangerines. Her family still gets fruit that way, a simple, steady, seasonal presence.
Those backyard trees, it seems, are central to many Floridians' identity. They're something that makes Florida Florida.
Of course, the same can be said of the citrus industry.
Which brings us back around to the citrus canker eradication program.
Cutting down infected and exposed trees was meant to halt the spread of this highly contagious disease and spare greater losses to Florida's #1 crop. Unfortunately, it didn't work. During the intense hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, the resulting wind and rain created the perfect means for spreading the bacteria beyond manageable levels.
Things got so bad that in January 2006 the USDA decided citrus canker could no longer be eliminated without inflicting permanent damage to the citrus industry. They'd have to cut down so many trees to eradicate the disease that the growers simply couldn't recover.
Enter the Citrus Health Response Program, a collaborative effort to scientifically control canker's spread and to safeguard the citrus industry. Though citrus canker is harmless to humans, Florida citrus is now under quarantine (PDF | 66 KB). No citrus may leave the state without receiving a limited permit, and no Florida citrus may be shipped to any other citrus-producing U.S. state or territory.
That means all you folks in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Texas will need to fill your holiday baskets with oranges grown elsewhere. And for the foreseeable future, please tell your Aunt Judy in Bartow not to send any grapefruits from the tree in her yard -- unless she wants to get her fruit treated, packed and inspected at an approved packinghouse.
So, the tree cutting is over. The lawsuits go on, however, wrestling with the issue of compensation, but also with the questions I opened with, questions that seek to examine the line between private property and public good, between individual rights and state powers.
I don't begin to know where to draw that line, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. No law degree required.
Finally, for more on citrus canker, check out the books and articles here at the Library. With eradication unlikely, we need to know all we can about this contagious, costly disease.
Posted by Mary Ann Leonard
Added to Invasive Species and Plants and Crops on December 10, 2007
EST | Permalink
Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.
We can't grow citrus in New York but, I think that if people loose their property they should be compansated for that loss even though it may be for the common good. The other comment I would like to interject is that I think the citrus people should share more of those sweet, juicy lemons that grow in some of the back yards instead of sending all of those tart ones. I never knew how pleasant it was to eat a fully ripe lemon. |
Submitted by: James Hilderbrant on December 14, 2007 11:22 PM
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Very good discussion. Citrus cankers are certainly a bad sign for any fruit tree or bush. I do think they are doing a good deed by cutting down the trees that were already infested with canker; there is no way to stop cankers yet you can try to minimize it. One suggestion for those fruit lovers might be to find a citrus tree cultivar that is resistant to cankers and replace the trees taken out with new ones. |
Submitted by: Amanda Slykerman on April 1, 2008 02:52 PM
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I thought we do not have that issue any more here in Florida. You can have orange trees in your back yard...
"What would you do if someone came into your yard univited and cut down one of your trees? What if that someone was the state and the tree one you've enjoyed the fruits of for many years?"
Tracy
Miami |
Submitted by: Tracy on April 28, 2008 03:06 PM
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It really is a shame, but it's become bearable I'm told. We always have enjoyed our fruit from Florida, especially from the uniquely shaped florida honeybell. Then things like the size and design of private orangeries/groves, and the extent of their collections and even fruit shapes, like honeybells (honeybell tangelos) for example, became status symbols of sorts in Florida. Glad they did, because I just love citrus! |
Submitted by: Mary Beth McSwain on December 31, 2008 12:08 PM
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This blog does not represent official communications from the National Agricultural Library, the Agricultural Research Service or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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Help Stop the Emerald Ash BorerInvasive Species
 It looks a bit like an ordinary beetle that has had an unfortunate encounter with some green glitter, but in truth, the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) is not so entertaining.
This wood-boring bugger, first detected in the Detroit area in 2002, has had a significant and devestating effect on ash trees in Michigan. It has also spread to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ontario, Canada, killing an estimated 25 million ash trees along the way.
No one knows for sure how this native of east Asia made its way to middle America, but experts believe it hopped a ride in some ship's cargo hold via infected wood pallets or crates, possibly 10 or 15 years before being discovered.
The larvae inflict their damage by tunneling under the bark of the tree and then feeding on the phloem tissue, effectively stopping the flow of nutrients from the roots to the top of the tree. At first, this damage just thins the canopy, but eventually, branches die, followed by the tree itself, usually within two to four years.
With ash one of the primary commercial hardwoods in the United States and a very popular landscape tree, this infestation, if left unchecked, could cost billions.
Infestations spread fairly slowly -- less than half a mile each year -- but let's not forget the human element.
Just as we played a part in bringing this insect to our shores, we're helping it migrate across the country, either in firewood or in commercial nursery shipments. To help control the spread, the federal government has quarantined many of the affected areas. The quaratine restricts the movement of all ash tree products (nursery stock, lumber, logs, wood chips, etc.) and any and all hardwood firewood into or out of the targeted areas.
So, do your part. If you live in or near the states impacted by the emerald ash borer, know your enemy. We need to give scientists time to identify the borer's natural enemies. (Parasitic wasps and a soilborne fungus are two of the possibilities.) And we need to keep additional trees from dying.
Want to know more? Get the full story from the folks over at the National Invasive Species Information Center. They've collected an array of resources on the emerald ash borer that'll make you a neighborhood expert in no time.
Posted by Mary Ann Leonard
Added to Invasive Species on November 29, 2007
EST | Permalink
Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.
This blog does not represent official communications from the National Agricultural Library, the Agricultural Research Service or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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