Under the authority of the Plant Protection Act of 2000, a Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) 526 permit is required for the importation, interstate movement and environmental release of biological control organisms of plant pests and weeds.
Biological control organisms regulated by PPQ include:
Specific procedures need to be followed when proposing the first time environmental release of a biological control organism:
Examples of biological control organisms that do NOT typically need a PPQ 526 permit but may be regulated by other federal agencies or individual states are:
Biopesticides that are biological controls, according to APHIS, would be any registered pesticide used to control a plant pest, weed or plant disease for which the active ingredient is a live microbial organism, including the metabolites of that organisms.
A Message From USDA to Landowners and Managers: Moving Tamarisk Leaf Beetles (Diorhabda species)