Official Pest Report

Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.

Cotton Seed Bug (Oxycarenus hyalinipennis) eradicated from Florida

Country: United States

Title: Cotton Seed Bug (Oxycarenus hyalinipennis) eradicated from Florida

Contact:
Paul Hornby, Florida State Plant Health Director, at 352-313-3040

Report: Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is declaring eradication of the cotton seed bug (Oxycarenus hyalinipennis) from Stock Island and Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Florida. First detected in 2010, the cotton seed bug can damage seed production of cotton, okra, and hibiscus. Adult cotton seed bugs may also feed on fruits and seeds of other plants, causing significant damage.

APHIS partnered with Florida to implement extensive survey, regulatory, and control activities to eradicate the cotton seed bug and prevent its spread into cotton-producing states. After three years of negative detections in Stock Island and Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, these areas are no longer considered infested with the cotton seed bug.

Under IPPC Standards, Oxycarenus hyalinipennis is considered to be a pest that is absent: eradicated from Florida and the continental United States.
 

Posted Date: March 21, 2014, 9 a.m.