GLICKMAN ANNOUNCES USDA TESTING OF NEW LURE TO HELP COMBAT ASIAN
LONGHORNED BEETLE
                                            Release No. 0298.99
                                                               
                    Media Contact:  Andy Solomon (202) 720-4623
                                          andy.solomon@usda.gov
                      Public Contact: Sandy Hays (301) 504-1638
                                         shays@asrr.arsusda.gov
                                                               
GLICKMAN ANNOUNCES USDA TESTING OF NEW LURE TO HELP COMBAT ASIAN
LONGHORNED BEETLE

Permit to Be Required for Interstate Shipment of All Invasive Plants 

     WASHINGTON, July 22, 1999 Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
announced that USDA researchers have developed and are now testing a new
chemical attractant and lure that may help combat the pesky Asian longhorned
beetle, an invasive species that has destroyed hardwood trees in Chicago and
Brooklyn, New York neighborhoods.  

     "Our goal is to eradicate this pest," said Glickman, addressing the
first meeting of the President's Council on Invasive Species.  "And this new
lure could help us set up a Roach Motel with lifetime rooms set aside
specifically for Asian longhorned beetles."  

     Glickman also announced that USDA will prohibit any interstate movement
of invasive plants, listed in the Federal Noxious Weed Act regulations,
without a permit.  Currently, a permit from USDA's Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service is required only where a quarantine exists.  The new
policy, which will be published in the Federal Register soon, will better
prevent the unplanned and potentially damaging spread of invasive plants into
non-infested areas of the United States.  

     "Believe it or not: People can now order some invasive plants out of
gardening catalogs and have them delivered right to their door," said
Glickman.  "If we are going to fight these weeds and prevent the environmental
and economic havoc they can wreak, this step is absolutely essential."  

     To create the beetle lure, USDA scientists first isolated two chemicals
produced by male beetles.  They then made artificial copies that appear to be
potent attractants for both sexes.  During promising lab tests, the two
synthetic pheromones were the only substances, from either plants or insects,
that interested the beetles enough to encourage them to fly toward the source
in a wind tunnel.  Field tests in China are currently underway.  If the
attractant is effective and works at appropriate distances, baited traps can
be used in the United States to help flush out undetected beetle infestations
and monitor high-risk areas, such as import warehouses and ports, for new
introductions. 

     The lure was discovered by entomologist Jeffrey Aldrich and chemists
James E. Oliver and Aijun Zhang of the Agricultural Research Service's Insect
Chemical Ecology Laboratory in Beltsville, Md.  Entomologist David Lance of
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service developed the trap.  A
patent application was filed earlier this month for the new pheromones.  

     Last year, Glickman announced that USDA would ban the import of all
untreated solid wood packing material from China, source of the Asian
longhorned beetle.  This preventive step has already reduced the number of
beetle interceptions in the United States.

     The President established the Council on Invasive Species in February to
coordinate and intensify federal, state, and local efforts to fight non-native
plants and animals. The Council, which is chaired by Glickman, Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt, and Commerce Secretary William Daley, will work
cooperatively with state and local officials, tribes, scientists,
universities, environmental groups, farm organizations, shipping interests,
and the business community to create a detailed invasive species management
plan.  

     
     Many ecologists believe the spread of exotic species constitutes one of
the most serious, yet least appreciated, threats to biodiversity.   Invasive
species inflict a heavy toll on American agriculture, reducing the quality and
raising the cost of food, feed, and fiber.  Experts estimate that invasive
plants have already infested over 100 million acres.  Three million acres, an
area twice the size of Delaware, is lost to invasive plants each year.  The
total economic impact of invasive species on the U.S. economy is estimated to
be about $123 billion annually.  

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Scientific contacts: Entomologist Jeffrey Aldrich, Insect Chemical Ecology
Laboratory, Beltsville, Md., (301) 504-8531, jaldrich@asrr.arsusda.gov.