EMERALD ASH BORER (Agrilus Planipennis) confirmed in New York State
The Emerald Ash Borer, or EAB (Agrilus Planipennis) has been positively identified for the first time in NYS in an ash
tree from a location near Randolph, in western Cattaraugus County. The trees appear to have been infested for some time.
Rick Hoebeke of the Cornell University Department of Entomology made the initial determination which was officially confirmed by the USDA-ARS Systematic Entomology
Laboratory.
Welcome to NYIS.INFO, the website of the NY Invasive Species Clearinghouse. NYIS.INFO is your gateway to science-based information, breaking news,
and new and innovative tools to prevent, detect, control and manage biological invaders in New York. NYIS.INFO links scientific research, State and Federal
management programs and policy information, outreach education and grassroots invasive species action to help you become part of the battle against invasive
species in and around New York.
The National Aquatic Nuisance Species Clearinghouse
Aquatic Invasive Species Database is now part of NYIS.INFO.
Click here to search the database.
 Round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) |
What is an invasive species? The Executive Summary of the
National Invasive Species Management Plan defines an invasive species as “a species that is non-native to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.” This definition was adopted in the 2005
Final Report of the NYS Invasive Species Task Force. The Task Force refined the definition stating that to be considered “invasive”, a non-native species’ harm must significantly outweigh any benefits. |
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Why should New Yorkers care about invasive species?
Invasive species affect the lives of all New Yorkers and we pay a
significant price to deal with them. Invasive species damage our crops and
infrastructure, cause power failures and food and water shortages, harm the
environment, and cause human and livestock diseases. For example,
controlling Asian longhorned beetles in New York City and Long Island has
cost between $13 million and $40 million per year since 1996. Zebra mussels
have caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage in the Great
Lakes since their introduction in 1988. |
 Emerald Ash Borer
(Agrilus planipennis) |
What other invasive species are in New York? Some of the
species already having a major impact on NY include: round gobies, Asian shore
crabs, Phragmites (the common reed), Eurasian watermilfoil, Japanese knotweed,
garlic mustard, mile a minute vine, purple loosestrife, water chestnut, viral
hemorrhagic fever (a fish disease) and West Nile virus. Scores more are just on
our doorstep. [See the species list in the left hand navigation bar of this
website.]
 Japanese Knotweed
(Polygonum cuspidatum) |
 Mute Swan
(Cygnus olor) |
Photo credits:
David Jude, University of Michigan
Emerald ash borer - David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org
Japanese knotweed - Tom Heutte, USDA Forest Service,
Mute swan – Meghan O’Neill