The primary purpose of this agreement is to support the USDA-aphis ALB eradication program through cooperative research

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service awarded Clemson University a $202,278 Cooperative Agreement on January 1, 2026, under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025) to support the USDA-APHIS Asian longhorned beetle eradication program through cooperative research in South Carolina.

The award funds research addressing ALB management in South Carolina's urban and rural developed and palustrine wetlands, the southernmost U.S. infestation to date, and evaluates whether core management activities from northern infestations require adjustment for this region. Clemson will deliver host tree removal and ALB collection data; identify new host species; provide life table and biological data on collected beetles; compile lists of collected ALB parasitoids; collect and quantify ALB oviposition tendencies and success rates; develop a site vulnerability matrix based on host inventory data; and document study trees and RNAi treatment results. Data will be shared with USDA-APHIS, USDA ARS, and Clemson personnel. The intended beneficiaries are the USDA-APHIS PPQ ALB Program and the ALB Cooperative Forestry Working Group, with methodology outcomes expected to reduce program costs and operational expenses.

Performance occurs in South Carolina, with the period of performance running through December 31, 2026.

This infestation occurs in both urban and rural developed and palustrine wetlands and is the furthest south of any of the previous or current infestations in the U.S. This raises several questions around if the core management activities carried out by the ALB program and the ALB cfwg in the more northern infestations are still valid or need to be adjusted for south carolina. Activities and deliverables: 1) a report on the number of host trees removed and number of ALB collected (and therefore taken out of the population) from all research projects and the age of any requested damage, 2) the addition of any new host species discovered in SC, 3) life table and all collected ALB biological data will be provided to the program, 4) a list of collected ALB parasitoids will be provided to USDA aphis, USDA ARS, and clemson university personnel, 5) data will be collected, summarized, and quantified to determine ALB oviposition TE ndencies and success rate; data will be provided to USDA aphis, USDA ARS, and clemson university personnel, 6) a site vulnerability matrix will be comprised based on data collected during ALB host inventories, 7) a detailed list of study trees used and results of the rnai treatment will be provided to USDA aphis, USDA ARS, and clemson university personnel. Intended beneficiaries: USDA aphis PPQ ALB program and ALB cfwg will benefit most from the work conducted, as the methodology developed and implemented could lead to reduced costs and programmatic savings.