1 00:00:08,730 --> 00:00:11,080 - Next we have Judy Rosovsky. 2 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:14,000 She is with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:15,150 Food, and Markets. 4 00:00:15,150 --> 00:00:16,600 She's also known for her work 5 00:00:17,660 --> 00:00:19,460 as a Vermont state entomologist 6 00:00:19,460 --> 00:00:23,410 and all of her work over the years with FEMC, 7 00:00:23,410 --> 00:00:25,990 invaluable work, and thank you for all that. 8 00:00:25,990 --> 00:00:28,690 Today, Judy will be presenting her talk 9 00:00:28,690 --> 00:00:31,180 titled Hits, Misses, and Incomings, 10 00:00:31,180 --> 00:00:35,390 A Review of Federal and State Pests of Concern. 11 00:00:35,390 --> 00:00:36,223 Take it away. 12 00:00:40,950 --> 00:00:43,120 - Hi, everybody. 13 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,780 Let me just turn my timer on. (chuckles) 14 00:00:46,780 --> 00:00:48,913 Okay, thank you for coming to my talk. 15 00:00:50,850 --> 00:00:53,310 My name is Judy Rosovsky and I'm the state entomologist 16 00:00:53,310 --> 00:00:56,420 for the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets 17 00:00:56,420 --> 00:00:59,200 and I'm also the state plant regulatory official. 18 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,400 And in that capacity, I work closely 19 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,190 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's plant protection 20 00:01:04,190 --> 00:01:07,500 and quarantine people and sometimes with the Forest Service. 21 00:01:07,500 --> 00:01:12,500 So, okay, let's get the slides to move. 22 00:01:15,530 --> 00:01:18,260 Sorry, you guys, of course, I'm having a problem. 23 00:01:18,260 --> 00:01:19,093 There we go. 24 00:01:21,370 --> 00:01:24,490 So I'm gonna discuss some diseases that are of concern 25 00:01:24,490 --> 00:01:27,810 to the federal plant protection quarantine people 26 00:01:27,810 --> 00:01:29,810 which are also of concern to the state. 27 00:01:29,810 --> 00:01:31,270 And then some pests and diseases 28 00:01:31,270 --> 00:01:33,523 are only of concern to the state. 29 00:01:35,660 --> 00:01:39,200 The federal folks aren't that interested in them. 30 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:41,710 And I am gonna talk about a couple of agricultural pests 31 00:01:41,710 --> 00:01:44,240 because some of those were fairly important, 32 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,450 but I will get to the forest pests shortly. 33 00:01:47,450 --> 00:01:51,080 So these were a couple of diseases that came through 34 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:53,673 and I'm just gonna go through them one at a time. 35 00:01:56,183 --> 00:01:58,320 Ralstonia is a bacteria 36 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:03,010 and it usually doesn't come into the United States, 37 00:02:03,010 --> 00:02:07,760 but we had this huge influx of 250,000 geraniums 38 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,600 that went to 650 facilities in 44 States. 39 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:13,290 Luckily that didn't include Vermont, 40 00:02:13,290 --> 00:02:17,560 but that did take a lot of resources and it actually was, 41 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:20,740 the survey to find and eliminate those plants 42 00:02:20,740 --> 00:02:22,613 took place within about a month. 43 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,510 It's a quite horrible agricultural pest 44 00:02:26,510 --> 00:02:28,760 and that was kudos to USDA 45 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,053 for dealing with that so effectively. 46 00:02:34,229 --> 00:02:37,160 Okay, I'm not sure why these, oh, there we go. 47 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,840 Another agricultural disease, and this is a fairly new one, 48 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:42,720 it was just discovered in the mid East 49 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:46,020 in 2014 and 2015 and identified 50 00:02:46,020 --> 00:02:48,080 and then it was sort of spread worldwide 51 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,410 before people realized what it was. 52 00:02:50,410 --> 00:02:53,800 It was found in Florida in the last couple of years. 53 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,893 So there's been a nationwide survey. 54 00:02:59,110 --> 00:03:00,500 We checked in Vermont 55 00:03:00,500 --> 00:03:03,450 and we checked some of the largest tomato producers, 56 00:03:03,450 --> 00:03:05,923 and Vermont is a large tomato producing state. 57 00:03:07,710 --> 00:03:09,890 We didn't find any of that here, 58 00:03:09,890 --> 00:03:11,790 but it's very difficult to tell this disease 59 00:03:11,790 --> 00:03:13,773 apart from other similar diseases, 60 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:17,150 so we don't have it just yet, 61 00:03:17,150 --> 00:03:19,590 but who knows what the future will bring. 62 00:03:19,590 --> 00:03:21,400 And the nationwide survey results 63 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:22,933 have not been released yet. 64 00:03:25,700 --> 00:03:29,793 Another disease, this one is a real problem out west, 65 00:03:30,700 --> 00:03:34,223 is sudden oak death known as Phytophthora ramorum. 66 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:38,740 It is also difficult to tell apart from similar diseases. 67 00:03:38,740 --> 00:03:41,440 It gets on rhododendrons, for example, 68 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,130 which always have horrible diseases on them. 69 00:03:44,130 --> 00:03:46,140 And you just can't visually distinguish 70 00:03:46,140 --> 00:03:48,020 this disease from others. 71 00:03:48,020 --> 00:03:50,330 It's probably not gonna get established in Vermont 72 00:03:50,330 --> 00:03:51,810 because it's cold intolerant, 73 00:03:51,810 --> 00:03:54,810 but it does travel through the nursery trade, 74 00:03:54,810 --> 00:03:56,560 and so we'll probably do a survey 75 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,250 for it this coming year 76 00:03:59,250 --> 00:04:01,920 just to make sure that we're not transmitting it 77 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:05,510 inadvertently to other states. 78 00:04:05,510 --> 00:04:06,740 In the background here, 79 00:04:06,740 --> 00:04:08,830 you can see this ooze 80 00:04:08,830 --> 00:04:11,470 that's one of the symptoms of sudden oak death. 81 00:04:11,470 --> 00:04:14,730 And it's cold intolerance, 82 00:04:14,730 --> 00:04:19,730 it can survive sort of -10 degrees Celsius 83 00:04:20,860 --> 00:04:23,250 to up to 30 degrees Celsius, 84 00:04:23,250 --> 00:04:26,150 which would be -14 degrees Fahrenheit 85 00:04:26,150 --> 00:04:30,000 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit, 86 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,113 so it has a more limited range than some things. 87 00:04:36,870 --> 00:04:39,010 So again, we probably won't find it here, 88 00:04:39,010 --> 00:04:41,663 but we don't wanna be transmitting it to to others. 89 00:04:43,210 --> 00:04:47,580 In the insect world, we have the velvet longhorned beetle. 90 00:04:47,580 --> 00:04:49,610 When I say we have, I mean in the U.S., 91 00:04:49,610 --> 00:04:52,191 it's not in Vermont as far as we know. 92 00:04:52,191 --> 00:04:55,510 Trichoferus campestris, and this is a pest 93 00:04:55,510 --> 00:04:58,580 that comes in a lot on furniture and other wood products 94 00:04:58,580 --> 00:05:01,730 and it's in at least nine states so far in the U.S. 95 00:05:01,730 --> 00:05:05,760 and the USDA has decided that it only attacks dead 96 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:07,840 and dying or stressed trees, 97 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:09,460 and it's not a threat to live trees, 98 00:05:09,460 --> 00:05:10,730 and they're gonna deregulate it. 99 00:05:10,730 --> 00:05:12,720 In fact, it has been deregulated. 100 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:14,860 So that means we'll no longer get notification 101 00:05:14,860 --> 00:05:17,930 when it's come in on furniture, 102 00:05:17,930 --> 00:05:19,620 which is unfortunate, because in Europe, 103 00:05:19,620 --> 00:05:22,380 they seem to think it does attack live trees, 104 00:05:22,380 --> 00:05:25,023 so that remains to be determined. 105 00:05:26,550 --> 00:05:28,290 And I just wanna put it on people's radar, 106 00:05:28,290 --> 00:05:29,123 and of course it looks 107 00:05:29,123 --> 00:05:32,210 like a number of other brown cerambycid beetles. 108 00:05:32,210 --> 00:05:33,403 That's very helpful. 109 00:05:34,700 --> 00:05:36,370 Then we have the Asian longhorn beetle 110 00:05:36,370 --> 00:05:38,700 and you all probably know it's in South Carolina 111 00:05:38,700 --> 00:05:39,750 where they discovered they had 112 00:05:39,750 --> 00:05:41,860 more maples than they thought. 113 00:05:41,860 --> 00:05:43,530 And also when they do survey work, 114 00:05:43,530 --> 00:05:45,730 they seem to be encountering alligators 115 00:05:45,730 --> 00:05:46,990 which is something I'm grateful 116 00:05:46,990 --> 00:05:49,123 we don't have to deal with in Vermont. 117 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:54,100 More local pests are the European cherry fruit fly 118 00:05:54,100 --> 00:05:55,840 that was found along the Niagara river 119 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:59,250 over in north, somewhat central Vermont. 120 00:05:59,250 --> 00:06:02,580 I mean, New York, sorry, it's not in Vermont, 121 00:06:02,580 --> 00:06:04,890 both in Ontario and in New York. 122 00:06:04,890 --> 00:06:09,430 And there was a big survey effort done last field season, 123 00:06:09,430 --> 00:06:11,270 no, sorry, in 2018, 124 00:06:11,270 --> 00:06:14,530 where they put up about 300 traps in Vermont, 125 00:06:14,530 --> 00:06:16,410 didn't find anything. 126 00:06:16,410 --> 00:06:18,110 But then we discovered that Canada 127 00:06:18,110 --> 00:06:20,260 is not planning on pursuing 128 00:06:20,260 --> 00:06:25,203 an aggressive eradication policy, so, whoops. 129 00:06:26,410 --> 00:06:28,430 So New York eradication efforts 130 00:06:28,430 --> 00:06:31,600 have sort of diminished because there's no point 131 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,323 trying to eradicate something that your neighbors have. 132 00:06:35,490 --> 00:06:39,970 And more locally, we have had two incidents 133 00:06:39,970 --> 00:06:42,340 where we found elongate hemlock scale 134 00:06:42,340 --> 00:06:44,390 on hemlock in northern Vermont. 135 00:06:44,390 --> 00:06:46,290 And this picture shows 136 00:06:46,290 --> 00:06:49,100 our Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, 137 00:06:49,100 --> 00:06:50,770 Forest Parks and Recreation Forester, 138 00:06:50,770 --> 00:06:55,770 Dan Dillner doing a basal bark spray application. 139 00:06:55,930 --> 00:06:57,853 So that infestation, 140 00:06:57,853 --> 00:06:59,620 one of them has been taken care of 141 00:06:59,620 --> 00:07:03,503 and we hope to address the next one shortly. 142 00:07:05,940 --> 00:07:08,210 The insects that we're most concerned about 143 00:07:09,630 --> 00:07:13,350 which are of both federal and state concern are these three. 144 00:07:13,350 --> 00:07:15,100 And for those of you not that familiar with them, 145 00:07:15,100 --> 00:07:16,487 you can guess which ones we have 146 00:07:16,487 --> 00:07:18,513 and which ones we don't have. 147 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,883 We do have the emerald ash borer, 148 00:07:22,750 --> 00:07:24,830 and at first glance it looks like it's all over the place, 149 00:07:24,830 --> 00:07:25,700 but I'd like to point out 150 00:07:25,700 --> 00:07:29,530 there are plenty of places that it isn't in Vermont. 151 00:07:29,530 --> 00:07:31,760 So it's in all but three counties, 152 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:34,280 but some of these areas are single trees, 153 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,100 and I realize that they are gonna be in more places 154 00:07:37,100 --> 00:07:38,390 than you can actually see them 155 00:07:38,390 --> 00:07:41,850 because they're under the bark in low densities, 156 00:07:41,850 --> 00:07:43,140 but I'd still urge people 157 00:07:43,140 --> 00:07:46,840 to continue to try to make an effort to slow the spread. 158 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:48,033 Don't move firewood. 159 00:07:48,950 --> 00:07:51,903 Only move logs during the non-flight season. 160 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:58,290 Because the USDA has decided the quarantine hasn't worked, 161 00:07:58,290 --> 00:07:59,900 and is going to deregulate 162 00:07:59,900 --> 00:08:03,860 and they will put their efforts into other techniques 163 00:08:03,860 --> 00:08:05,480 for addressing this pest, 164 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:08,040 so this map shows the boundary in blue 165 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:09,630 of the federal quarantine 166 00:08:10,470 --> 00:08:13,120 which will go away on January 14th. 167 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:18,040 I will remark that that quarantine bought Vermont 16 years 168 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:23,040 from 2002, when it was discovered, to 2018, 169 00:08:23,070 --> 00:08:24,970 which gave us some time to prepare 170 00:08:24,970 --> 00:08:28,653 for the influx of this pest, so I am grateful for that. 171 00:08:31,390 --> 00:08:34,090 And when we assess the efficacy of the quarantine, 172 00:08:34,090 --> 00:08:38,793 we can't lose sight of that kind of data. 173 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:41,790 Vermont still has a law 174 00:08:41,790 --> 00:08:43,633 pertaining to emerald ash borer or to all pests 175 00:08:43,633 --> 00:08:46,017 that you pretty much it can't move pests. 176 00:08:46,017 --> 00:08:47,900 You can't transport them, sell them, buy them, 177 00:08:47,900 --> 00:08:49,470 bring them in, whatever. 178 00:08:49,470 --> 00:08:51,360 And we also have a set of recommendations 179 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:52,610 that Forests and Parks created 180 00:08:52,610 --> 00:08:55,380 to help people in the wood product industry 181 00:08:55,380 --> 00:08:58,070 which you can find on vtinvasives.org, 182 00:08:58,070 --> 00:09:01,460 and the state also has an external fire wood quarantine. 183 00:09:01,460 --> 00:09:04,160 So we are still somewhat protected by the rule of law 184 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:06,490 and by common sense, I hope. 185 00:09:06,490 --> 00:09:08,560 So please urge the people you deal with 186 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:10,070 to help slow the spread. 187 00:09:10,070 --> 00:09:11,223 It's still gonna help. 188 00:09:12,690 --> 00:09:16,610 In the meantime, spearheaded by Josh Halman 189 00:09:16,610 --> 00:09:19,220 in Forest, Parks and Recreation, 190 00:09:19,220 --> 00:09:22,330 Vermont has started doing bio-control releases. 191 00:09:22,330 --> 00:09:25,900 We've released almost 9,000 insects in two different sites 192 00:09:25,900 --> 00:09:28,750 and you can see they come in these little logs 193 00:09:28,750 --> 00:09:30,720 which we attach to trees that we determine 194 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:33,390 have emerald ash borer in them. 195 00:09:33,390 --> 00:09:36,560 We're only releasing one of the tiny stingless wasps 196 00:09:36,560 --> 00:09:37,890 that are the bio-control agents 197 00:09:37,890 --> 00:09:40,510 for emerald ash borer at this point, 198 00:09:40,510 --> 00:09:44,230 but that will, we'll probably get the two others 199 00:09:44,230 --> 00:09:46,220 and start releasing them soon. 200 00:09:46,220 --> 00:09:47,600 And I'd just like to remind people 201 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:48,870 that this is not gonna help us 202 00:09:48,870 --> 00:09:51,023 with our forests in the immediate future. 203 00:09:52,570 --> 00:09:57,523 These bio-control insects will help, we hope, 204 00:09:58,590 --> 00:10:00,570 in what's called the aftermath forest 205 00:10:00,570 --> 00:10:03,870 when most of the ash trees are dead 206 00:10:03,870 --> 00:10:08,870 and ideally we'll have a large enough bio-control population 207 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:11,050 to suppress emerald ash borer population 208 00:10:11,050 --> 00:10:13,780 and allow regeneration of ash trees 209 00:10:13,780 --> 00:10:17,313 such that they can reach reproductive age and reproduce. 210 00:10:18,550 --> 00:10:19,600 And just a quick note 211 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:24,600 about emerald ash borer and climate change. 212 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:29,680 So for most insects, including emerald ash borer, 213 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:33,240 the colder it is, the worse it is for the insect. 214 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:35,420 But because these are ash borers, 215 00:10:35,420 --> 00:10:37,600 they can get additional protection 216 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:39,360 from the cold through a snowpack, 217 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:40,700 and, you know, being sheltered, 218 00:10:40,700 --> 00:10:42,580 being on the sunny side of the tree. 219 00:10:42,580 --> 00:10:45,070 One interesting study that just came out 220 00:10:45,070 --> 00:10:48,120 is that it's possible that the parasitoids 221 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:49,260 might be more vulnerable 222 00:10:49,260 --> 00:10:52,070 to the types of extreme temperature changes 223 00:10:52,070 --> 00:10:54,723 that are predicted from climate change. 224 00:10:56,580 --> 00:10:59,060 So that's something to consider 225 00:10:59,060 --> 00:11:03,913 as we move into these bio-control efforts. 226 00:11:05,660 --> 00:11:10,610 Okay, sorry, I'm having trouble getting this to go, 227 00:11:10,610 --> 00:11:11,443 but there we go. 228 00:11:11,443 --> 00:11:16,290 So another problematic pest is spotted lanternfly. 229 00:11:16,290 --> 00:11:18,950 It was first found in Pennsylvania in 2014. 230 00:11:18,950 --> 00:11:21,400 It's continuing to spread 231 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:24,010 and I believe that population has increased 232 00:11:24,010 --> 00:11:26,650 past the point where our quarantine efforts 233 00:11:26,650 --> 00:11:28,260 are really stopping it. 234 00:11:28,260 --> 00:11:29,830 If you can see these tiny red dots, 235 00:11:29,830 --> 00:11:33,980 these are individual incidents where it's been found. 236 00:11:33,980 --> 00:11:35,330 So I think it's inevitable 237 00:11:35,330 --> 00:11:37,390 that we are gonna find it in Vermont 238 00:11:37,390 --> 00:11:40,133 and we should start preparing ourselves for that day. 239 00:11:46,170 --> 00:11:48,280 We had a major scare this fall. 240 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:49,540 There was a trace forward. 241 00:11:49,540 --> 00:11:52,770 A trace forward is when you use sales records 242 00:11:52,770 --> 00:11:55,770 and invoices to find out where the plants were sold 243 00:11:55,770 --> 00:11:57,823 that were infected or infested. 244 00:11:59,650 --> 00:12:02,830 And a nursery in Pennsylvania had sent maple trees 245 00:12:02,830 --> 00:12:04,850 where some but not all of the egg masses 246 00:12:04,850 --> 00:12:07,330 of the spotted lanternfly had been scraped off. 247 00:12:07,330 --> 00:12:12,040 So these went to 44 businesses in Vermont and we checked 248 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,230 and didn't find any of these spotted lanternfly egg masses. 249 00:12:15,230 --> 00:12:18,083 Some other New England states did find them. 250 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:20,490 This insect is a very good hitchhiker. 251 00:12:20,490 --> 00:12:22,070 If you're anywhere near Pennsylvania, 252 00:12:22,070 --> 00:12:24,210 please check your car before you come back. 253 00:12:24,210 --> 00:12:25,070 And this time of year, 254 00:12:25,070 --> 00:12:26,733 check plants that you're buying. 255 00:12:28,790 --> 00:12:33,030 Okay, and then our other big ugly pest 256 00:12:33,030 --> 00:12:35,480 is Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia, 257 00:12:38,390 --> 00:12:40,083 also known as the murder hornet. 258 00:12:43,955 --> 00:12:45,870 (chuckles) Yeah, it's here, it's big, 259 00:12:45,870 --> 00:12:47,380 but it's not here in Vermont, 260 00:12:47,380 --> 00:12:49,960 and it's fairly unlikely to get here. 261 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:52,410 We just don't have the same volume of trade 262 00:12:52,410 --> 00:12:55,600 with Pacific countries coming directly to us 263 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:57,730 that they do have in Washington state. 264 00:12:57,730 --> 00:13:01,110 And it also didn't come on the usual pest pathways 265 00:13:01,110 --> 00:13:03,393 which are wood packing material or pallets, 266 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,560 so it's not entirely clear how it got here, 267 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:10,153 which makes it less likely to show up in Vermont. 268 00:13:13,050 --> 00:13:17,650 So these stars indicate sightings. 269 00:13:17,650 --> 00:13:21,610 The lighter, the orange ones are 2020, 270 00:13:21,610 --> 00:13:23,693 and so are the black ones. 271 00:13:25,380 --> 00:13:27,430 Oh, sorry, the black ones are 2019 272 00:13:27,430 --> 00:13:29,160 and the purple ones are 2019. 273 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:31,510 So this inset shows the area we're looking at. 274 00:13:31,510 --> 00:13:34,263 This is in Washington state and in British Columbia. 275 00:13:35,130 --> 00:13:37,280 And then this map on the right 276 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:40,970 shows the trapping effort that happened, 277 00:13:40,970 --> 00:13:42,710 that took place this field season. 278 00:13:42,710 --> 00:13:44,360 These round orange dots 279 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:47,010 are where traps were put out by both professionals 280 00:13:47,010 --> 00:13:48,840 and citizen scientists. 281 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:53,840 And then the square red dots are visual sightings 282 00:13:55,530 --> 00:13:58,743 and the round dots are trap catches that were positive. 283 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,833 So it's around there. 284 00:14:04,870 --> 00:14:09,870 So they undertook a major eradication effort 285 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:12,130 and they basically use radio telemetry. 286 00:14:12,130 --> 00:14:15,370 You can see that attached to one of the wasps 287 00:14:15,370 --> 00:14:18,193 and tracked down where the nest was. 288 00:14:19,030 --> 00:14:20,440 They have to wear a special suits 289 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:22,330 because the stinger on these wasps 290 00:14:22,330 --> 00:14:24,553 can go through a regular beekeeper suit. 291 00:14:25,700 --> 00:14:28,930 They found the tree, wrapped in cellophane, vacuumed it out, 292 00:14:28,930 --> 00:14:30,880 and then they went back and they cut the tree down 293 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:32,880 and they found some more live queens. 294 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:36,223 So multiple queens is not a good thing. 295 00:14:38,130 --> 00:14:41,560 As far as climate effects on these insects, 296 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:43,050 you can see this is a range 297 00:14:43,050 --> 00:14:46,830 that's been determined by using museum records 298 00:14:46,830 --> 00:14:49,090 and other sources of information. 299 00:14:49,090 --> 00:14:51,900 So they have a fairly wide ecological range. 300 00:14:51,900 --> 00:14:54,850 They go down into Southeast Asia and up into the mountains. 301 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:01,280 And there was a climate suitability study done 302 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,380 which showed that the eastern climate is favorable 303 00:15:04,380 --> 00:15:08,400 for these big true wasps, 304 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,580 but clearly they're able to be established in the west. 305 00:15:11,580 --> 00:15:14,810 And I just wanted to show you this picture up here. 306 00:15:14,810 --> 00:15:17,493 This is the Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia, 307 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:23,610 which is a true wasp. 308 00:15:23,610 --> 00:15:28,570 And then this is a European hornet, 309 00:15:28,570 --> 00:15:31,060 which is an invasive from Europe that we have in Vermont. 310 00:15:31,060 --> 00:15:32,810 So we don't have this one. 311 00:15:32,810 --> 00:15:34,180 We do have this one. 312 00:15:34,180 --> 00:15:36,470 And now we know a lot more about its Vermont distribution 313 00:15:36,470 --> 00:15:39,850 because many, many people called in with these 314 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:41,820 thinking they had it. 315 00:15:41,820 --> 00:15:46,410 All right, so let's hope 2021 is a better year 316 00:15:46,410 --> 00:15:47,533 and has fewer pests. 317 00:15:52,180 --> 00:15:53,430 - All right, Jen Pontius. 318 00:15:54,380 --> 00:15:56,350 I have to say I'm a little overwhelmed 319 00:15:56,350 --> 00:15:58,060 by the variety of threats. 320 00:15:58,060 --> 00:16:00,410 You've shared some steps the state is taking, 321 00:16:00,410 --> 00:16:02,740 but they seem resource-intensive 322 00:16:02,740 --> 00:16:05,350 for larger scale control slash management. 323 00:16:05,350 --> 00:16:07,300 How do you prioritize efforts? 324 00:16:07,300 --> 00:16:09,623 What should we be most worried about? 325 00:16:11,300 --> 00:16:13,480 - Oh, great question, Jen. (chuckles) 326 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:15,693 Just fear and panic everywhere. 327 00:16:16,570 --> 00:16:18,393 So I think the most likely next pest 328 00:16:18,393 --> 00:16:20,250 that is really gonna be problematic 329 00:16:20,250 --> 00:16:22,793 will be the spotted lanternfly. 330 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,183 Some of the other pests, you know, 331 00:16:27,183 --> 00:16:31,410 the European cherry fruit fly is a fruit fly, 332 00:16:31,410 --> 00:16:33,810 so you can treat it like you would other fruit flies. 333 00:16:33,810 --> 00:16:35,740 So some of these things can be managed 334 00:16:35,740 --> 00:16:40,260 in the same way that a native insect would be dealt with. 335 00:16:40,260 --> 00:16:41,610 And it does sound awful, 336 00:16:41,610 --> 00:16:44,440 but really their regulatory response, for example, 337 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:48,630 to Ralstonia was heartening because they found it. 338 00:16:48,630 --> 00:16:52,390 This is a massive threat and we're able to eliminate it. 339 00:16:52,390 --> 00:16:54,460 That system worked really well for that. 340 00:16:54,460 --> 00:16:57,310 So sometimes things work like they should and it's great. 341 00:16:58,440 --> 00:16:59,850 But the best thing we can do 342 00:16:59,850 --> 00:17:01,960 is sort of be aware of what we're transporting 343 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:03,390 from one place to another. 344 00:17:03,390 --> 00:17:06,423 I mean, we saw that lesson with the emerald ash borer. 345 00:17:07,700 --> 00:17:09,450 I hope that answered your question. 346 00:17:15,663 --> 00:17:20,250 - All right, another question from G. Knickers. 347 00:17:20,250 --> 00:17:23,280 Thanks Judy, do you have any specific recommendations 348 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:24,830 for the agricultural sector 349 00:17:24,830 --> 00:17:27,220 about how they should be preparing 350 00:17:27,220 --> 00:17:29,300 slash what they can do 351 00:17:29,300 --> 00:17:32,610 to watch out for the spotted lanternfly? 352 00:17:34,006 --> 00:17:35,360 - I think we need, (chuckles) 353 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:37,030 funny you should ask, Ginger, 354 00:17:37,030 --> 00:17:39,210 to do a lot of education outreach. 355 00:17:39,210 --> 00:17:40,930 For example, with the emerald ash borer, 356 00:17:40,930 --> 00:17:43,740 because we had those 16 years to prepare for it, 357 00:17:43,740 --> 00:17:46,390 we had fantastic education outreach. 358 00:17:46,390 --> 00:17:50,370 Any time I went to hang a purple trap for, you know, 359 00:17:50,370 --> 00:17:53,480 monitoring for them, the people who I spoke with 360 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:54,600 knew what I was doing. 361 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:55,640 That was great. 362 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,120 I feel like spotted lanternfly is not that well known 363 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:01,545 and that we really need to get the word out 364 00:18:01,545 --> 00:18:03,883 because it's moving quickly. 365 00:18:05,700 --> 00:18:09,110 It seems that it doesn't kill forest trees, 366 00:18:09,110 --> 00:18:12,000 the spotted lanternfly, it may stress them. 367 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,990 So if there are climate change-related stressors 368 00:18:14,990 --> 00:18:17,260 in addition to insect pest stressors, 369 00:18:17,260 --> 00:18:19,740 that will be harder on the trees. 370 00:18:19,740 --> 00:18:21,390 But the agricultural stuff, 371 00:18:21,390 --> 00:18:26,130 I mean, we need to alert the grape industry, basically. 372 00:18:26,130 --> 00:18:28,263 So I hope that answered your question. 373 00:18:30,027 --> 00:18:33,100 - All right, we have a question now from Aaron Marcus. 374 00:18:33,100 --> 00:18:35,930 Thanks, Judy, uplifting as always. 375 00:18:35,930 --> 00:18:40,590 As we have very little tree of heaven as a host in Vermont, 376 00:18:40,590 --> 00:18:43,080 what are our chances of being able to limit 377 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:45,143 spotted lanternfly's spread here? 378 00:18:46,430 --> 00:18:48,470 - Hey Aaron, thanks for listening to my talk. 379 00:18:48,470 --> 00:18:50,680 So it sounds like in Pennsylvania 380 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,380 they have done some studies and make it clear 381 00:18:53,380 --> 00:18:56,500 that the spotted lanternfly can reproduce 382 00:18:56,500 --> 00:19:00,203 on non-Ailanthus or non-tree of heaven hosts. 383 00:19:01,050 --> 00:19:03,680 The lab studies showed reduced fecundity, 384 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,340 but the outdoor exclusion cages, 385 00:19:06,340 --> 00:19:11,340 they seem to be able to reproduce just as well 386 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,830 on non-Ailanthus hosts as on Ailanthus. 387 00:19:15,830 --> 00:19:19,150 So, unfortunately, I don't think, 388 00:19:19,150 --> 00:19:20,850 while it would probably still be helpful 389 00:19:20,850 --> 00:19:24,163 to get rid of Ailanthus 'cause it's an invasive tree, 390 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,780 it's not gonna keep them from coming up. 391 00:19:28,780 --> 00:19:31,210 And I don't know what their temperature tolerance is, 392 00:19:31,210 --> 00:19:35,103 but I think that it's lower than has been thought. 393 00:19:36,590 --> 00:19:40,520 So I think what is gonna happen is we're gonna get it 394 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:44,423 and we just need to know that and prepare for it.