Wasp spreads in the Northeast

USDA’s APHIS confirmed Sirex noctilio woodwasp in Vermont in September. This is the first detection of S. noctilio in New England by the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service.

The pest was collected from a trap on private property in Lamoille County. S. noctilio surveys will continue throughout fall.

Sirex noctilio is an exotic species of wood-boring wasp capable of causing significant mortality in healthy species of pine trees. It introduces a toxic mucus and spores of a toxic fungus when the female lays eggs through the bark and into the sapwood of the tree. It has destroyed up to 80 percent of pine trees in areas of New Zealand, Australia, South America and South Africa.

S. noctilio has been positively confirmed in 28 counties in New York, five counties in Pennsylvania, one county in Michigan and now one county in Vermont. APHIS’ Center for Plant Health Science and Technology will study the nematode Beddingia siricidicola as a biological control agent.

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For more: Lynn Evans-Goldner, APHIS, (301) 734-7228; lynn.e.goldner@aphis.usda.gov.