GWSS Detection Program News

As part of protecting California from Pierce’s disease, the PDCP and county cooperators maintain a network of insect traps to actively monitor the state’s uninfested areas and rapidly detect any occurrences of glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) in new areas. This monitoring effort is coordinated where possible with other ongoing insect detection activities, such as those for Asian citrus psyllid, to maximize the overall effectiveness of the pest detection effort. In recent months this ongoing vigilance netted five separate detections of GWSS in new areas. From late August through September, single GWSS were trapped in Lemoore (Kings County), Chowchilla (Madera County), and Dinuba, Tulare, and Visalia (Tulare County). In each case, the County Agricultural Commissioner’s office quickly responded to the finds by conducting visual surveys and placing additional traps around the find sites. In each case, no additional GWSS were found. These results show that the GWSS containment effort continues to be effective and that trapping and detection activities are important components in the statewide effort against Pierce’s disease and its vectors.

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