Q-TRAP: In-Transit Detection of Bioinvasive Forest Insects in Intermodal Shipping Containers

The rate of invasion of harmful organisms into the USA is now higher than ever before. The current concern over the potential for species introductions to be used strategically as instruments of bio-terrorism or bio-warfare appears to be well founded. Growth in the volume and complexity of international trade, combined with the liberalization of regulatory regimes to encourage trade, has at once increased the frequency of introductions along existing pathways, the number of new pathways, and the ease at which potentially invasive species can move along those pathways. The deregulation of national and international markets has reduced both the barriers to trade and the surveillance of trade, thereby increasing the risks of invasions. National quarantine agencies are hard pressed to keep up with burgeoning volumes of global trade. This project will develop a sensitive insect sensor that will run 24 hours per day, every day that cargo is in transit, attracting insects to a containment surface where they remain for immediate detection and identification when inspectors gain entry to the container at the port of destination. An increase in the availability, timeliness, accuracy and transparency of pest information is expected to lead to more confidence in the quarantine integrity of cargo and increased detections of invading species, resulting in greater efficiencies in cargo transportation, while reducing risks associated with inadvertent introduction of invasive species.