Biological Control of Invasive Pale and Black Swallow-Worts in New York State - Field Evaluation of Hypena opulenta

Swallow-worts (Vincetoxicum spp.) are aggressive invasive plants imperiling the biological diversity and impacting the economy of New York. These plants threaten rare and endangered species, alter ecosystem function, interfere with commodities, and can dominate state highway rights-of-way. Beyond local scales, mechanical and chemically based control approaches are largely ineffective, impractical, and expensive for swallow-worts. Thus, biological control represents the only cost-effective approach available for permanently reducing the impact of this well-established invasive species on a landscape scale. In addition, well-planned biological control has little or no impact on native species and is appropriate for even the most environmentally and conservation sensitive areas. Several candidate biological control agents were identified from the native ranges of black swallow-wort (BSW) and pale swallow-wort (PSW). Of those identified, the moth Hypena opulenta was thought to be the most promising and was subjected to an extensive battery of host-range tests to ensure safety of native plant species and was granted approval by the US government and NY State for field release in 2017.

• Record URL:
  http://www.utrc2.org/research/projects/biological-control-invasive-pale-black-swallow

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $921259
• Contract Numbers:

  55513-02-29

• Sponsor Organizations:

  New York State Department of Transportation

  50 Wolf Road
  Albany, NY  United States  12232

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  University Transportation Research Center

  City College of New York
  Marshak Hall, Suite 910, 160 Convent Avenue
  New York, NY  United States  10031
• Project Managers:

  Eickemeyer, Penny

• Performing Organizations:

  SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

  1 Forestry Dr
  Syracuse, New york  United States  13210
• Principal Investigators:

  Brown-Lima, Carrie

  Schnurr, Jaclyn

  Parry, Dylan

  Davalos, Andrea

• Start Date: 20181105
• Expected Completion Date: 20211031
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Environmental control; Field studies; Insects; Invasive plants
• Geographic Terms: New York (State)
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01696576
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: University Transportation Research Center
• Contract Numbers: 55513-02-29
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Feb 27 2019 4:58PM