Biologically Based Technologies for Pest Control Page: 22
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22 Biologically Based Technologies for Pest Control
I Newly Emerging Pest Threats
The number of pests in the United States is con-
stantly growing. The 1993 OTA assessment of
Harmful Non-Indigenous Species in the United
States showed that new species continuously
flow into the country, but few previous immi-
grant (or nonindigenous) pests, such as the boll-
worm (Helicoverpa zea) or the European gypsy
moth, are ever eradicated (338). Newly arrived
pests just since 1980 include:
* the Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia),
which has caused more than $850 million in
crop losses;
* the zebra mussel (Dreissena spp.), which
spread to more than 17 states in less than a
decade, imperiling native mussels, fouling
water intake systems, and causing losses to the
power industry that are expected to exceed
several billion dollars; and
m the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus),
which is now found in more than 22 states and
is an effective vector of several serious human
diseases such as dengue fever (338).
OTA estimated that more than 205 species
were newly detected or introduced into the
United States from 1980 through 1993, with at
least 59 having the potential to become pests.
Moreover, this rate of pest entry is expected to
rise with the increasing globalization of trade and
advent of more rapid methods of transportation
(338). Global warming is similarly expected to
increase rates of pest entry to the United States,
as species usually restricted to lower latitudes
migrate northward (338).
In addition, public authorities are now attack-
ing some old pests with new vigor. Specifically,
changing public values have caused increased
emphasis on the conservation of indigenous
biodiversity --the nation's biological heritage. In
numerous parks and nature reserves, this biodi-
versity is now imperiled by nonindigenous
weeds, insect pests, and plant diseases that para-
sitize, kill, consume, compete with, or destroy
the habitats of native plants and animals.In the late 1980s, the silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia argentifolii)
emerged as a new pest in the southwestern United States,
causing hundreds of millions of dollars in crop damage.
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
National Park Service managers, for example,
now rank nonindigenous species as one of the
top threats to park natural resources (338). Stew-
ards of Nature Conservancy lands in 46 states
report problems with pest plants, and 59 percent
of all stewards rank pest plants as one of their top
10 conservation concerns (284).
Managers of natural areas are increasingly
seeking methods to suppress these pests while
leaving the native flora and fauna unharmed. Sci-
entists are similarly directing increased attention
toward dealing with introduced pests in aquatic
systems--rivers, lakes, streams, and oceans
(191). The need is for effective, but highly spe-
cific, pest control methods that can be used in
environmentally sensitive habitats-criteria met
by few conventional pesticides.
Nonindigenous weeds also degrade western
rangelands. A number provide only low-value
forage for cattle, and some, like leafy spurge
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United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment. Biologically Based Technologies for Pest Control, report, September 1995; [Washington D.C.]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc39770/m1/29/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.