Moth that could devastate Calif. agriculture trapped in yard

An African moth capable of devastating agriculture crops has been trapped for the first time on U.S. soil in California.The discovery of an adult male "false codling moth" July 24 in the city of Port Hueneme has been declared an emergency by the secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The department says the tiny winged pest could "cause devastating losses to the agricultural industry and to urban landscapes if it were to become established in California."The moth is known to destroy citrus, avocados, cotton, peaches, peppers and corn, but that's naming just a few of the 50 plant species it's been known to feed on in Africa, according to Dave Sacks, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service."This is the type of pest that not only destroys the fruit, but it destroys the trees as well," he said. "So it's a double whammy."Now, the search is on for a second moth, and if one is found, it would trigger a quarantine by the federal government, meaning regulations would be set up to monitor what crops could be moved in and out of Ventura County. That would be a damaging blow to local agriculture, a $1.5 billion industry."We really can't afford to have a quarantine that shuts down exports of agriculture from this county," said Farm Bureau Chief Executive Officer John Krist. "That would be devastating to many growers to lose the global market. So we're hoping this is an isolated occurrence."The false codling moth, or "Thaumatotibia leucotreta," was found not far from the Port of Hueneme, where fruit is shipped in from foreign countries, although authorities are not speculating as to how it arrived.It was trapped in a pine tree next to an orange tree in a home's yard. Many fruit trees, field crops and other plants are known to be hosts for the false codling moth, according to the department.Since 1984, the false codling moth has been intercepted more than 1,500 times on 99 plant species at 34 U.S. ports of entry, according to the food and agriculture department. But July's discovery was the first to find the moth outside of the port itself.Based on the last time the trap in the yard in Port Hueneme was checked, the moth arrived sometime from July 8 to 24.If the moth gets established in California or anywhere else in the United States, it "could result in significant economic losses" and "would likely be a significant production and quarantine issue for numerous agricultural commodities," according to the California food and agriculture department's Web site."In California alone, the annual combined gross value of the top 10 agricultural commodities, which would be directly impacted by this pest, is more than $7.1 billion, which amounts to 22 percent of the total agricultural value for the state," the Web site said.One of the big concerns, Sacks said, is that the moths can be hard to find if they get established because the larva can live inside acorns, a warm, safe environment. The moths like warm weather.The USDA is working with state inspectors and the Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner in looking for a second moth.A six-mile radius surrounding the original find is being stocked with traps. That effort will eventually stretch to 10 miles. Once the full range is in place, 36 traps per square mile will be monitored.If a second moth appears, sterile insects might be used for eradication, Sacks said."In South Africa where these things are native, agriculture officials and scientists have been successful using what they call sterile insect technology," he said.That involves releasing sterile moths into the wild that mate with false codling moths. Because no offspring are produced, the moth population naturally dies off after a certain amount of time.The state food and agriculture department is not guaranteeing that pesticides won't be used, however. Spokesman Steve Lyle said that if they were available, sterile moths would be the first and preferred option, but he stressed that it's too soon to say that would be what's used.(Stephanie Hoops is a reporter for the Ventura County Star in California.)