Traps will be placed, and visual surveys will be conducted at pre-selected sites which may include state parks, camp grounds, log yards, sawmills, veneer mills, pine plantations, nurseries,…

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources received a $110,000 Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025), awarded May 5, 2025, with completion by May 4, 2026. The award supports a comprehensive exotic wood borer and bark beetle survey program designed to detect the presence or absence of economically significant invasive pest species in Indiana, including the oak ambrosia beetle, walnut twig beetle, six-toothed ips, European spruce bark beetle, Asian longhorned beetle, and thousand cankers disease pathogen.

The cooperator will conduct trapping and visual surveys at pre-selected sites throughout Indiana, including state parks, campgrounds, log yards, sawmills, veneer mills, pine plantations, nurseries, Christmas tree farms, and urban areas. Traps will be monitored bi-weekly for 90 to 180 days depending on target species, with visual surveys conducted during peak pest activity. Deliverables include detection and identification data to inform appropriate agency notification and response, support commerce of Indiana timber and nursery products, assess resource and industry impact, and develop regulatory management strategies for any detected infestations.

Activities

The exotic wood borer and bark beetle survey was designed to detect the presence or absence of the OAK ambrosia beetle, platypus quercivorus, the ambrosia beetle megaplatypus mutates, walnut twig beetle, pityophthorus juglandis, six toothed IPS, IPS sexdentatus, european spruce bark beetle, IPS typographus, asian longhorned beetle, anaplophora glabripennis, and thousand cankers disease, geosmithia morbida. Trapping and visual surveys will be conducted at pre-selected sites which may include state parks, campgrounds, log yards, sawmills, veneer mills, pine plantations, nurseries, christmas tree farms and urban areas. Traps will be monitored BI-weekly for 90 to 180 days depending on target species. Visual surveys will be conducted during peak pest activity or at times when symptoms are known to be expressed. Deliverables and expected outcomes: the cooperator seeks to conduct a program which is expected to result in the detection and identification of the above-mentioned insects if present in indiana. These economically important exotic species would have negative impacts on the state's natural resources. If any of the targeted pests are detected, appropriate agencies will be notified to determine the range and age of the infestations. The survey data will be used to support commerce of indiana timber and nursery products. The data will also be used to DE termine the impact and risk to the resources and affected industries, to determine regulatory management for infestations, and to develop other management strategies. Intended beneficiary(IES): the state of indiana and the USA as a whole. Subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award: at this time none.