Invasive Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana and all its cultivated varieties) has been in the news this year; states across the region have been listing this species as a noxious weed – a distinction that carries with it limitations and regulations on the sale and movement of these plants.

"Spongy moth" has been formally adopted as the new common name for the moth species Lymantria dispar by the Entomological Society of America.

In mid-August, a concerned community member brought to the attention of scientists, the presence of an invasive insect. The insect, spotted lanternfly, had never been reported before in Vermont, and was first detected in the United States in 2014 in Pennsylvania, but has spread across the eastern US to 8 states.

In the Forest Insect and Disease Conditions Report for 2019, we shared that an isolated patch of what was suspected to be Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) was reported in Sandgate in late 2018 (Bennington County). At the time, there had not been botanical confirmation of the presence of that plant, because the site was treated as part of a private land management project. A potential roadside site for this plant was reported in October 2019 in Brattleboro (Windham County). It was previously thought to be absent from Vermont, but these recent sightings provided by the public through the Report It feature on VTinvasives.org, have led the Vermont Natural Heritage Program to photographically confirm the populations in Bennington, Rutland, and Windham County, but do not have vouchers.