Latest Ecophero news, product launches and insights on insect pheromones and integrated pest management (IPM).
A proposed biological control release has brought the threat to native US prickly pear cacti into focus. In its September 10, 2026 program update, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said it was reviewing a request to release Apanteles opuntiarum, a parasitoid wasp, against the invasive cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum.
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Embrapa’s September 4, 2026 article on caterpillar management in Brazilian maize describes a growing challenge: fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, has shown reduced susceptibility to certain Bt proteins, while growers have increased complementary insecticide applications. The report brings together the history of Bt adoption and recent survey figures. Read together, these findings show why the performance of existing crop-protection tools remains an important question for Brazil’s maize sector.
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USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced additions to the Asian longhorned beetle quarantine in Charleston County, South Carolina, on September 1, 2026. The update, issued in cooperation with Clemson University’s Department of Plant Industry, added 16.5 square miles in Mount Pleasant and 25.2 square miles in Hollywood. APHIS said the expansion was effective immediately. The two figures describe the areas being added, rather than the full size of the quarantine.
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On September 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), working with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), expanded the citrus greening quarantine in parts of California. The APHIS program update, posted September 2, records two additions: one square mile in the Santa Paula quarantined area of Ventura County and 10 square miles in Riverside and San Diego Counties.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), working with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), removed the Mexican fruit fly quarantine in Hidalgo County, Texas, on September 1, 2026. The action applied to the Peñitas-Granjeno quarantine area and was documented in USDA APHIS Program Update DA-2026-32, posted September 2, 2026.
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Moldova's National Food Safety Agency (ANSA) reported Lycorma delicatula, commonly known as spotted lanternfly, in a notice dated August 24, 2026. The EPPO Reporting Service identifies this as the first report of the pest in Moldova and the first report in the EPPO region.
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EPPO added Erthesina fullo, the yellow-spotted stink bug, to its Alert List in its August 2026 reporting cycle. The decision reflects the pest's invasive behaviour, broad host range and potential to damage economically important fruit crops. The EPPO Alert List profile brings together the evidence behind the addition and the surveillance questions it creates for the region.
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On August 27, 2026, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported that it was adding Cape May County, New Jersey, to the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis) quarantine area, effective immediately. APHIS took the action in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) through Federal Order DA-2026-30. The USDA APHIS program update is the official source for the federal action.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued Federal Order DA-2026-31 on August 25, 2026. The order reissues conditions for interstate movement of regulated fresh tomato fruit from Mediterranean fruit fly quarantine areas nationwide.
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