APHIS Establishes a Box Tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis) Quarantine in Virginia

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FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION 
DA-2026-11 
March 31, 2026

Subject: APHIS Establishes a Box Tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis) Quarantine in Virginia
 
To: State, Tribal, and Territory Agricultural Regulatory Officials

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), is adding Clarke County, Frederick County, and the Independent City of Winchester in Virginia to the box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis; BTM) quarantined areas. This Federal quarantine mirrors the intrastate quarantine that VDACS established on December 3, 2025.

APHIS is taking this action in response to confirmed BTM detections in Clarke County on July 15, 2025, in Frederick County on August 17, 2025, and in the Independent City of Winchester on September 11, 2025. This Federal Order supersedes Federal Order DA-2025-52 (198.05 KB).

To prevent the spread of BTM, APHIS considers it necessary to regulate the interstate movement of regulated articles of boxwood from quarantined areas. Establishments may only move boxwood plants interstate from quarantined areas if the establishment is operating under a compliance agreement, and only if the shipment is accompanied by a state-issued certificate certifying that the establishment has met the requirements of this Federal Order and their compliance agreement. These requirements facilitate the safe interstate movement of boxwood plants by producers and distributors. State agricultural authorities may prescribe additional safeguards and protocols.

APHIS prohibits movement of all other regulated articles of boxwood, including plant parts, pieces, cuttings, clippings, debris, and any portion of the plant, alive or dead, except for decorative purposes.

The APHIS BTM webpage has the attached Federal Order and additional information on this pest. 

For additional information you may contact: 

Devon Gaydos 
Assistant National Policy Manager 
240-457-0297 
devon.gaydos@usda.gov

/s/

Matthew A. Rhoads 
Acting Deputy Administrator 
Plant Protection and Quarantine 
Attachment: DA-2026-11 (178.57 KB)