GLEDN

 

A few years ago, I was on an early morning hike in a local Ohio hardwood forest. Surrounded by gigantic sugar maples and stately beech, I felt like I was being hugged by friendly giants. As I continued to meander up the trail, I came across a tree I didn’t recognize. With a relatively short & stocky trunk, large, broadly spreading branches, and a distinctly corky bark, the tree appeared to be taking advantage of a large gap in the canopy. I ambled over for a closer look.

 

I was thrown...

On Friday, June 23, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced the first detection of spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) in Indiana. This find is a reminder to be on the look out for this invasive species and report and suspect finds in Ohio. Reports can be made using the Great Lakes Early Detection Network (GLEDN) App, or contacting the Ohio Department of Agriculture by email (plantpest@agri.ohio.gov), phone (614-728-6400), or using the online reporting form on their website at: https://agri.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/oda/divisions/plant-health/invasive-pests/slf

A quarantine is established to contain, or reduce the potential spread, of an identified pest. Recently, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) has expanded their spotted lanternfly (SLF) (Lycorma delicatula) quarantine to include 8 new counties. Those counties include: Cambria, Cameron, Franklin, Lackawanna, Montour, Pike, Wayne and Westmoreland. This brings up the total number of PA Counties under quarantine to 34. This is just over 1/2 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. 

The spotted lanternfly (SLF) (Lycorma delicatula) is an invasive planthopper first detected in eastern Pennsylvania in Berks County in 2014, and has since been detected in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The map below was updated on August 14, 2020 and includes both individual finds of SLF with no infestation present (purple dots), and where SLF infestations are present (blue areas) - which means a reproducing population had been detected and multiple life-stages of the insect has been detected and confirmed. 

 

In recent years you have likely read more, learned more and maybe even seen more invasive species. Whether it is plants, diseases or insects, these pests should be on the radar - especially in the green industry. 

 

I was recently reading a local paper and the headline "Border authorities find invasive beetles in a bag of seeds" of course caught my attention. The invasive species encounter was success thanks to the work of US Customs and Border Protection.

 

Late last week, US Customs and Border Protection announced in a release that agriculture...