Country: United States

Title:

Lymantria dispar (Spongy Moth): APHIS Adds La Crosse County, Wisconsin, to the Quarantined Area.

Contact:
Kathryn Bronsky, at kathryn.e.bronsky@usda.gov or (301) 851-2147.

Report:

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the state of Wisconsin are expanding the list of quarantined areas for spongy moth (formerly known as gypsy moth) by adding La Crosse County, Wisconsin. The moth population in this county has reached the threshold to trigger the quarantine expansion.

To prevent further spread of spongy moth, a Federal Order provides notification that APHIS is adding La Crosse County in Wisconsin to the regulated area in accordance with 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 301.45 et. seq. As required by 7 CFR § 301.45-2(b)(1), Wisconsin has established a parallel state quarantine. Effective immediately, all interstate movement of regulated articles from La Crosse County must be handled in accordance with 7 CFR § 301.45-4.

Spongy moth is a destructive insect of approximately 300 species of trees and shrubs. The Spongy Moth Program prescribes conditions for the interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas. The Federal and state partnership limits the establishment of spongy moth outside the quarantined area that would result from human-assisted movement of the pest. We appreciate the cooperative relationship with Wisconsin in the effort to prevent the spread of spongy moth.

The full lists of spongy moth quarantined areas and regulated articles are on the APHIS Spongy Moth webpage. APHIS will publish a notice of this change in the Federal Register.

Under IPPC standards, Lymantria dispar is a pest that is present: not widely distributed and under official control in the United States.

Posted Date: April 4, 2025, 7:58 a.m.