Unwelcome Guests: Exotic Forest Pests

Exotic forest pests cost China and the United States billions of dollars each year. Current regulatory systems worldwide are overwhelmed with the increasing volume of international trade. Trade in nursery stock, wood products, pallets and dunnage have proven the most common means of transport for exotic forest pests. Despite our best efforts, pests such as chestnut blight, gypsy moth, Dutch elm disease, and Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) have caused major changes in the structure and function of American forests, as well as urban landscapes. China' s natural resources are likewise under attack, and many of the pests come from the United States, such as the pinewood nematode and the red turpentine beetle. ALB is acting like an exotic pest in China, attacking over 100 host species, and killing many of the trees planted in the ThreeNorth Belt project. The biological basis of the invasiveness of exotic pests, and what can be done about them, are discussed.