With its bustling international trade, moderate climate, diverse crops, and year-round tourist traffic, California is especially vulnerable to exotic pests. Exotic species which have become established here are responsible for 67% of all crop losses and are the reason for most pesticide use statewide.

This issue features several articles updating readers on the exotic pest picture in California. Articles include news stories on red imported fire ant and Africanized honey bees; research articles on weed, insect and disease pests, and a review of the CDFA Preventative Release Program to control Mediterranean fruit fly outbreaks.

Public policy on exotic pests will also be the subject of the upcoming UC Agricultural Issues Center conference May 25 in Sacramento. For more information about the conference contact the Agricultural Issues Center at (530) 752-2320 or agissues@ucdavis.edu. —Editor