Chapter 220 – Regulatory Entomology

Publisher Summary This chapter illustrates the regulatory entomology. It is concerned with preventing the unwanted movement of insects and related invertebrates from areas where they occur to areas where they do not occur. Nonnative species have caused untold amounts of damage to crops, homes, environments, and persons. Officials in regional, state, or national governments achieve this goal with a five-component prevention program of exclusion, detection, eradication, identification, and public awareness. Exclusion is the primary prevention level. It uses phytosanitary regulations, including quarantines and other legal actions, to prevent the introduction of the quarantine pests. Detection is the secondary prevention level, which uses visual surveys or traps to find infestations of quarantine pests that have penetrated the exclusion barriers. Identification provides the name of the invading organism and information about its biology. It also provides intelligence to assist exclusion and eradication activities. Eradication is the tertiary prevention level. Eradication is the elimination of populations of quarantine pests found by the detection program. Public awareness strives to make the citizens aware of the regulatory laws concerning the importation of quarantine pests and items and enlists their cooperation in making the prevention efforts successful. The components work together much like a ladder with exclusion, detection, and eradication being the rungs, which are held together by identification and public awareness. Working together, these components can prevent the unwanted immigration of quarantine pests.