Office of Plant Industry Services staff members are responsible for collecting and managing data on plant pests that pose a threat to Virginia. Most surveys focus on pests that are not currently found in the state, including insects, weeds, and plant diseases. This work is often conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Virginia Cooperative Extension.

The Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) Program offers national and regional coordination, along with funding for National Priority Pests. The CAPS Collaboration Site provides annual guidelines, resources, and training.

Current Pest Survey Programs in Virginia

Cotton Pests

• Cotton Boll Weevil
• Cotton Seed Bug

Forest Pests

• Alder Root and Collar Rot
• Asian Longhorned Beetle
• Beech Bleeding Canker
• Beech Leaf Disease
• Oak Ambrosia Beetle
• Oak Splendour Beetle
• Redbay Ambrosia Beetle
• Spongy Moth

Nursery and Wood-Boring Bark Beetle Pests

• Asian Longhorned Beetle
• Beech Leaf Disease
• Box Tree Moth
• Boxwood Blight
• European Spruce Bark Beetle
• Japanese Wax Scale
• Oak Ambrosia Beetle
• Redbay Ambrosia Beetle
• Rosy Moth
• Six-toothed Bark Beetle

Solanaceous Pests

• Ralstonia Solanacearum Race 3 Biovar 2
• Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus
• Tomato Fruit Borer
• Tomato Leaf Miner

Vineyard Pests

• Black Maize Beetle
• Christmas Berry Webworm
• European Grapevine Moth
• False Codling Moth
• Old World Bollworm

Virginia Pests, Diseases and Surveys

• Honey Bee Survey
• Imported Fire Ant
• Phytophthora ramorum
• Spotted Lanternfly
• Vascular Streak Dieback
• Walnut Twig Beetle/Thousand Cankers Disease

Other Pests of Concern to Virginia

• Black Currant / White Pine Blister Rust
• Northern Giant Hornet
• Noxious Weeds
• Yellow-Legged Hornet

Contact

Anna Pasternak
Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Coordinator
804.786.3515
anna.pasternak@vdacs.virginia.gov

Visit the Office of Plant Industry Services directory