Amylostereum complex
Woodwasp-Amylostereum complex - Sirex noctilio F.
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Woodwasp-Amylostereum complex
The woodwasp, Sirex noctilio, and the associated pathogenic fungus, Amylostereum areolatum, are native to Eurasia and North Africa (USDA APHIS & Forest Service 2000) and have been introduced in New Zealand, Australia, South America (USDA Forest Service 1992), and North America (Lang 2006; USDA APHIS 2007; Canadian Forest Service 2005). While the full extent of the woodwasp infestation in North America has not yet been established, at a minimum it includes much of New York State, two counties in northern Pennsylvania, and a significant area in southern Ontario. Also found in MaComb County, Michigan (Michigan Department of Agriculture 2007). The wasp could jeopardize decades of careful management of Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) stands in Michigan aimed at ensuring survival of the highly-endangered Kirtland's warbler. Federal and state agencies spend about $2.5 million annually to manage Jack pine stands for the benefit of the warbler (Hogrefe pers. comm.).
The woodwasp enables the fungus to enter the tree. This insect-disease complex would threaten any pine trees in the lower 48 states, especially Monterey pine (P. radiata) and loblolly pine (P. taeda), as plantations of these species growing in foreign countries have been damaged (USDA APHIS & Forest Service 2000). Other pines that are highly vulnerable to the Sirex woodwasp are other species in the Southeast (shortleaf, slash, and Virginia pines---P. echinata, P. elliottii, P. virginiana), midwest (Jack pine), and across the West (lodgepole, ponderosa, and Jeffrey---P. contorta, P. ponderosa, P. jeffreyi). (USDA APHIS 2007)
All important softwood timber trees of the region are vulnerable to the woodwasp. According to the USDA Forest Service, if no action is taken to contain the woodwasp, it could spread across the entire southern pine region in 55 years or less (USDA Forest Service 2006). The resulting damage could range from $2 billion to $11 billion.
Before the woodwasp outbreak was discovered, experts considered there to be a high likelihood that wood wasp larvae would be in solid wood packing material or other wood articles shipped from both its native and introduced ranges (Tribe 1995); the insect was commonly intercepted by APHIS inspectors. The wasp can spread rapidly by natural means (USDA Forest Service 1992).
An efficient biological control agent has been identified (USDA APHIS & Forest Service 2000). As of September 2007, USDA APHIS scientists were hoping to conduct test releases of the biocontrol agent--the nematode Beddingia sricidicola--early in the Autumn (Mastro, pers. comm.).
Adoption of federal and state regulations governing movement of known or potential vectors for moving the woodwasp to other parts of the country has been delayed by the inability of USDA APHIS to obtain funding for a control program and disagreements within USDA over the proper form for the regulations (Dunkle, pers. comm.).
Sources
Canadian Forest Service. 2005. Forest Health Update. Sirex woodwasp Sirex noctilio F. November 30.
Lang, S.S. 2006. Invasive wasp, Southern Hemisphere forest devastator, found to be "well-established" in upstate New York. Cornell Chronicle Online. February 24.
Michigan Department of Agriculture. 2007. New Invasive Insect Confirmed in Michigan. July 16.
Tribe, G. D. 1995. The woodwasp Sirex noctilio Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Siricidae), a pest of Pinus species, now established in South Africa. African Entomol. 3: 215-217.
United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Forest Service 2000. Pest Risk Assessment for Importation of Solid Wood Packing Materials into the United States. USDA APHIS and Forest Service. August 2000.
USDA Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. 2007. Organism Pest Risk Analysis: Risks to the Conterminous United States Associated with the Woodwasp, Sirex noctilio Fabricius, and the Symbiotic Fungus, Amylostereum areolatum (Fries: Fries) Boidin. May 2007
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 1992. Pest Risk Assessment of the Importation of Pinus radiata and Douglas-fir Logs from New Zealand, Miscellaneous Publication No. 1508, October 1992.
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service. 2006. Economic Analysis of the Potential Impact of Sirex noctilio, With Emphasis on Pines in the Southeastern United States. January 2006.
