Asian Defoliator Survey

The Cooperator seeks to conduct a program which is expected to result in: • The safeguarding of Kentucky’s forests and timber industry from this suite of pests. • Preventing these insects from becoming established in Kentucky. • Early detection and a rapid response if any of these pests are detected through this survey. • The entry of positive/negative data into the NAPIS database We will select approximately 20 forested parks as our survey sites. This will be a trapping survey designed to detect five Asian Defoliator Lepidopteran pests: Asian Gypsy Moth, Japanese Gypsy Moth, Rosy Moth, Hokkaido Gypsy Moth, and Casuarina Tussock Moth. We will follow the trap and lure guidelines for these insects that can be found on the CAPS Resource and Collaboration website in the survey manuals and approved methods sections. Traps for the specific pests can be found in the table below. Traps and lures will be provided by APHIS. We will collect survey data detailing the presence/absence of these pests in the forests. Five University of Kentucky, Office of the State Entomologist employees will conduct this survey by setting the traps, monitoring the traps and changing lures as needed once per month, submitting samples, and removing traps. The survey will begin in late spring 2021 and continue throughout the summer. We estimate 5 total site visits including trap set, trap/lure monitoring and sample collection, and final sample collection/trap removal.