2009 Plant Protection Survey Report

The complete text of this report is available upon request.

Executive Summary

In 2009, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) conducted surveys for the following plant pests.

Forest Pest Surveys

Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis)

Grid surveys for the Anoplophora glabripennis were conducted in 25 municipalities across Canada. No signs or symptoms of A. glabripennis were observed during these surveys.

Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)

In Ontario, surveys were conducted at 1028 sites. New municipal records for Agrilus planipennis included sites in the city of Hamilton and the Regional Municipality of Niagara. In Quebec, surveys were conducted at 112 sites and no new A. planipennis positive sites were found outside the regulated area. In Atlantic Canada and western Canada, surveys were conducted at 61 and 126 sites, respectively. No signs or symptoms of A. planipennis were observed at the survey sites.

European Woodwasp (Sirex noctilio)

In Quebec, surveys were conducted at 106 sites. Sirex noctilio was found in two new sites near the towns of Bromptonville and Compton in Southern Quebec. In Ontario, traps were deployed at 82 locations. No S. noctilio adults were captured in counties and regional municipalities north of the known distribution. Sirex noctilio was not detected at each of the 23 sites surveyed in Atlantic and western Canada.

Pine Shoot Beetle (Tomicus piniperda)

In Ontario, surveys were conducted at 63 sites. Tomicus piniperda were detected outside of the established regulated area in the Districts of Algoma, Sudbury and Nipissing, the Counties of Lanark, Leeds and Grenville and Renfrew, the city of Ottawa and Greater Sudbury. In Quebec, a total of 75 sites were surveyed. Tomicus piniperda were captured at 20 sites in 14 new (non-regulated) municipalities. During this survey, T. piniperda was not detected in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia at the 29 and 18 sites surveyed, respectively.

Invasive Alien Forest Insect Surveys

In Ontario, surveys were conducted at 16 sites. Tomicus piniperda and Sirex noctilio were captured in a number of traps placed in south western Ontario. A single Agrilus planipennis adult was captured in a trap baited with ultra high release (UHR) ethanol in Windsor. In Atlantic Canada, 18 sites were surveyed. Adults of Tetropium fuscum were collected in Darmouth and Halifax. In Quebec, 15 sites were surveyed. Xyleborinus alni was detected in a trap near Sherbrooke. To our knowledge, this is the first time this insect has been reported in Quebec, however, it is not considered a pest of quarantine significance. In British Columbia, surveys were conducted at 18 sites. One adult beetle of Scolytus jacobsoni was detected at the Vernon landfill. This was the first known detection of this species in North America. No new invasive forest pest species were detected in Alberta during this survey.

European Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar dispar)

Nova Scotia: Trapping occurred at 198 sites in non-regulated areas of eastern Nova Scotia. There were 62 traps positive for Lymantria dispar dispar. Visual surveys occurred at 16 sites. One egg mass was found in Mount William and one egg mass as well as larval skins and pupa were found in River John.

Prince Edward Island: Surveys were conducted at 428 sites. One hundred seventy one traps were positive. Visual surveys occurred at 44 sites. Three egg masses were found in Winsloe within meters of the northern boundary of the regulated area of Charlottetown.

New Brunswick: Trapping occurred at 183 sites in east and northern areas beyond the regulated area. There were 68 positive traps. Visual surveys occurred at 18 sites. No additional life stages were found.

Newfoundland and Labrador: One positive trap with one gypsy moth was collected from the 347 sites surveyed. No additional life stages of L. dispar dispar were found at the site.

Ontario: Trapping occurred at 172 sites in the Thunder Bay area in a linear arrangement along transportation corridors. There were 54 positive sites.

Manitoba: A total of 681 traps were placed in Manitoba. Six sites were positive with a total of 10 moths captured. All of the sites were within the city of Winnipeg.

Saskatchewan: A total of 615 traps were set by CFIA. One male moth was trapped near Moose Jaw.

Alberta: A total of 756 traps were deployed in Alberta. Single moths were captured in the cities of Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge. As part of a delimitation survey, one moth in one trap and two in another trap were found in Medicine Hat.

British Columbia: A total of 4821 traps were set out by CFIA. Twenty-three traps at 11 locations were positive. Visual surveys at Harrison Hot Springs revealed 3 egg masses (1 new, 2 from a previous year). Seven egg masses were also found in Richmond.

Asian Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar asiatica or Lymantria dispar japonica)

All traps placed across Canada for Lymantria dispar asiatica or L. dispar japonica were negative; however, 1 adult gypsy moth collected from the Western area Gypsy Moth survey on Vancouver Island, near the town of Chemainus, was determined to be of the Asian biotype. It is speculated that the larva of this moth may have ballooned off an infested ship while at either the port of Chemainus or another nearby port or anchorage.

Pink Gypsy Moth (Lymantria mathura)

In Quebec, Ontario and Altlantic Canada, 9, 41 and 47 sites were surveyed, respectively. In British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, 149 traps, 10 traps, 20 traps and 28 traps were placed respectively. Lymantria mathura was not detected in these surveys.

Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle (Tetropium fuscum)

In Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland, trapping occurred at 271 sites. Tetropium fuscum was not detected in these provinces. In Nova Scotia, there were 19 new positive locations outside of the current Containment Area in the counties of Halifax, Hants, Colchester, Kings, Lunenburg, and Victoria. This is the first time T. fuscum was detected in the counties of Lunenburg, Victoria, and Kings. There are now a total of 46 sites where T. fuscum was detected outside of the Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle Containment area.

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae)

In 2009, visual surveys were conducted in and around importing nurseries and in hemlock forest stands in New Brunswick, Quebec and in Ontario at 3, 30 and 19 sites, respectively. No signs of Adelges tsugae were observed during these surveys.

Invasive Alien Plant Surveys

Woolly Cupgrass (Eriochloa villosa)

In Quebec, the survey was conducted on a total of 10 farms and 166 fields, representing 1453 acres. Eriochloa villosa was detected in 4 fields of soybean and corn in the municipality of St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, where it was not previously recorded. Two other fields were found to be infested with E. villosa on farms where the plant was previously detected.

Jointed Goatgrass (Aegilops cylindrica)

No formal survey was conducted for Aegilops cylindrica in 2009. However, sites located in Wainfleet and Port Colborne, Ontario where A. cylindrica was previously detected, were again visited. Plants were hand pulled at these locations in an effort to reduce seed production in an effort to eliminate these populations.

Horticulture Pest Surveys

National Detection Survey for Phytophthora ramorum

In Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada, 37, 95 and 40 sites were surveyed for Phytophthora ramorum. All samples collected were negative. In British Columbia, 57 nurseries and 73 sampling sites were surveyed. Of the 7,030 samples taken, 3 nurseries were positive for P. ramorum.

Grapevine Phytoplasmas (Bois noir and Flavescence doree)

In Ontario, a total of 89 sites were surveyed in Niagara. Bois noir and Flavescence doree were not detected during this survey. In British Columbia, 18 sites in the Okanagan Valley were surveyed. No phytoplasma symptoms were observed; therefore, no samples were collected from any sites.

Plum Pox Virus

Details on the surveys can be found in the Survey Updates section at the bottom of the PPV page.

Oriental Fruit Moth (Grapholita molesta)

In British Columbia, a total of 196 sites were trapped with no G. molesta being detected.

Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica)

In British Columbia, 575 traps were placed from Prince George south to the US border with an emphasis on airports and golf courses. Popillia japonica was not detected in British Columbia in 2009. In Newfoundland and Labrador, surveys were conducted at 54 sites in the province. Two adult P. japonica were collected from 1 trap in the city of St. John's in August. The additional traps set late in the season at the site were negative.

Chrysanthemum White Rust (Puccinia horiana)

The 2009 survey consisted of a second year follow up to a 2007 positive in a Chilliwack, British Columbia greenhouse. During the course of this survey, there were no infested plants found and this previously infested greenhouse is now considered free from Puccinia horiana.

Blueberry Maggot (Rhagoletis mendax)

In Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia, detection trapping was conducted at 14 and 35 sites, respectively. No Rhagoletis mendax adults were detected. In Quebec, surveys were conducted at 135 sites outside of the regulated areas. Rhagoletis mendax was found in the municipality of Farnham, Granby, Saint-Alexandre and Saint-Damase. In Ontario, trapping and fruit sampling was conducted at 50 sites. Positive samples were collected from a new positive commercial site located in the Town of Pelham, Niagara and two previously positive commercial sites located in West Elgin, Elgin County and at the Wainfleet Bog, Wainfleet Township, Niagara.

Apple Maggot (Rhagoletis pomonella)

In British Columbia, a total of 426 traps were placed in the commercial fruit growing regions in the interior of the province. This region is geographically separated by a mountain range from the coastal area that is now deemed to be infested. No detections of Rhagoletis pomonella were reported.

Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii)

Drosophila suzukii was first detected in Canada in a Port Coquitlam, British Columbia at a private light trap. Follow up trap placement in a few urban areas of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia also detected D. suzukii. Positives were recorded in Kitsalano, Burnaby, and other areas of Port Coquitlam. One fly was also detected in the Okanagan Valley near Kelowna. Additional follow up surveys by the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands reported positives at a number of location in the Fraser Valley.

Grains and Field Crops Pest Surveys

Soybean Cyst Nematode (Heterodera glycines)

In Ontario, soil samples were collected from 42 sites in central and eastern Ontario, focussing on non regulated counties. Heterodera glycines was detected for the first time in Victoria County. In Manitoba, the CFIA surveyed 25 fields producing soybeans. Heterodera glycines was detected in a field in the Rural Municipality of South Norfolk. In Quebec, a total of 253 samples were collected and all samples tested negative for H. glycines.

Potato Pest Surveys

Potato Wart (Synchytrium endobioticum)

In fiscal year 2009/2010, a total of 248 fields, 2029.2 ha, were post harvest inspected for the presence of Synchytrium endobioticum symptoms. CFIA did not identify any new potato wart positive fields in 2009 and continues to maintain restrictions on approximately 310 fields in Prince Edwards Island.

Potato Cyst Nematode (Globodera rostochiensis, G. pallida)

Soil sampling is conducted each year across Canada to monitor this pest. For information on this pest visit the CFIA Golden Nematode page