The following report was issued by the North American Plant Protection Organization:
“This Official Pest Report provides notification that the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service is quarantining the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island for Pine Shoot Beetle (PSB), Tomicus piniperda. This action is in response to recent trapping of PSB in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and is necessary to prevent the dissemination of PSB to other non-quarantined areas of the United States.
Although there has been no detection of PSB in Connecticut or Rhode Island, PSB has been detected in the remainder of New England, and significantly, in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. PSB has been moving by natural spread east and west from the original infested area in Ohio since 1992. It is reasonable to believe that PSB may already be present in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Both states are comprised of highly developed urban areas with low densities of host material to survey for PSB. It is possible that PSB is present in Connecticut and Rhode Island at low enough population levels to be difficult to detect. If the USDA does not quarantine these states and PSB is already present, PSB could inadvertently be spread to non-quarantined states by the movement of PSB host material. Therefore, in the long term, the USDA believes that quarantining Connecticut and Rhode Island will prevent the further dissemination of PSB. This action is effective immediately.”
The pine shoot beetle, a European native, was initially detected at a Christmas tree farm near Cleveland, Ohio in 1992. As of May 2006 survey efforts have detected the beetle in 16 states (MN, WI, IL, IN, MI, OH, PA, WV, VA, MD, NJ, NY, VT, NH, ME, and MA). This map shows the natural spread of the pine shoot beetle since its initial introduction into the United States: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ispm/psb/psbfirstoccurr.pdf. The pine shoot beetle attacks Pinus sp. with a preference for the hard pines such as red and Scots pine. Adult beetles cause damage that results in shoot and branch mortality. This damage can affect the growth of the tree and the appearance of trees for sale as Christmas trees or nursery stock.
The pest alert is from the Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project, a collaborative project between the Massachusetts DAR and the UMass Extension Agriculture and Landscape Program aimed at preventing the establishment of new pathogens and pests in Massachusetts. Visit the project website (http://www.massnrc.org/pests) for more information on Pine Shoot Beetle and other emerging pests or to subscribe and unsubscribe for pest alerts.

The pest alert is from the Massachusetts Introduced Pests Outreach Project, a collaborative project between the Massachusetts DAR and the UMass Extension Agriculture and Landscape Program aimed at preventing the establishment of new pathogens and pests in Massachusetts. Visit the project website (http://www.massnrc.org/pests) for more information on Pine Shoot Beetle and other emerging pests or to subscribe and unsubscribe for pest alerts.