invasive species – News Stories About invasive species - Page 2

Fruit Fly Causes
Unprecedented
Quarantine
in LA County

Aug 1, 2023 4:26 PM CDT

Fruit Fly Causes Unprecedented Quarantine in LA County

The Tau fruit fly, an invasive species from Asia, could cause serious damage to agriculture

(Newser) - An invasive pest that could cause huge problems for farmers has caused what California officials say is a first-of-its-kind quarantine covering 79 square miles of Los Angeles County. The California Department of Food and Agriculture says produce was quarantined in the area after more than 20 Tau fruit flies were...

Florida Has a Fresh New
Invasive-Species Hell

Florida Has a Fresh New Invasive-Species Hell

Green anacondas may be breeding, worrying locals and conservationists

(Newser) - A Burmese python incursion has become a headache for Florida over the past two decades, but that's not the only pesky reptile the Sunshine State is now contending with. The green anaconda, the world's heaviest snake, has also been setting down roots, with NBC2 reporting that the invasive...

Florida's Latest Invasive Species Is Very Fuzzy

Now Florida Has
a Bunny Problem

Jul 17, 2023 7:58 AM CDT

Now Florida Has a Bunny Problem

Domestic lionhead rabbits have taken over community of Jenada Isles

(Newser) - When Alicia Griggs steps outside her suburban Fort Lauderdale home, Florida's latest invasive species comes a-hoppin' down the street: lionhead rabbits. The bunnies, which sport an impressive flowing mane around their heads, want the food Griggs carries. But she also represents their best chance of survival and moving where...

Florida Imposes Quarantine
Over Giant Snails. Again

Jun 21, 2023 10:00 AM CDT

Florida Imposes Quarantine Over Giant Snails. Again

Uber-invasive giant African land snail just won't let up in the state

(Newser) - Florida continues its game of whack-a-mole, more like whack-a-snail, with a formidable opponent. On Tuesday, the state imposed a quarantine of sorts in parts of Broward County to try to contain the invasive giant African land snail, reports NBC Miami . Meaning, residents in the affected areas can't remove snails...

They'll Soon Be Back, and It's
Our Job to 'Eliminate' Them

They'll Soon Be Back, and It's Our Job to 'Eliminate' Them

Spotted lanternflies are due to start hatching soon; experts say we need to 'smash' invasive species

(Newser) - Since 2014, when they apparently made their way from China to the US in a shipping crate, spotted lanternflies have been the bane of farmers, agricultural officials, and plant lovers throughout the Northeast. Now, it's almost time for the eggs of the invasive species to hatch, and experts are...

The Canadian 'Super Pig'
Could Be Coming for Us

Feb 21, 2023 3:23 PM CST

The Canadian 'Super Pig' Could Be Coming for Us

The massive pigs are as hardy as they are destructive

(Newser) - It sounds like something out of a movie: an "incredibly intelligent, highly elusive" pig that's both massive and impervious to cold temps due to its size and ability to tunnel as many as six feet under the snow. And it's apparently coming for us. The Guardian reports...

This Tiny Visitor Got Stopped at US Border

Border Officials Spot
This Bug for the First Time

Feb 20, 2023 10:10 AM CST

Border Officials Spot This Bug for the First Time

Insect 'corimelaena palmeri' was in a shipment of flowers from Mexico

(Newser) - US border officials intercepted an unwanted visitor at the border—a bug never before seen in this country. Customs inspectors spotted the insect corimelaena palmeri in a shipment of cut flowers from Mexico, reports CNN . A news release from US Customs and Border Protection says inspectors at the Otay Mesa...

Gigantic Cane Toad Found,
Promptly Euthanized

Gigantic Cane Toad Found, Promptly Euthanized

'Toadzilla' may be a record-setter

(Newser) - If this toad is so big it looks fake to you, you're not alone: Wildlife officers reportedly felt the same way. While patrolling a rainforest in Queensland, Australia, rangers had to stop their vehicle upon finding a snake blocking the path. When they got out to take a closer...

St. Maarten to Kill
All Its Vervet Monkeys

Jan 18, 2023 2:30 PM CST

St. Maarten to Kill All Its Vervet Monkeys

Invasive species is wreaking havoc on island territory, group says, while others call for mercy

(Newser) - St. Maarten plans to cull its population of invasive vervet monkeys, considered a nuisance in the Dutch island territory in the eastern Caribbean, though some are questioning the strategy. There are at least 450 vervet monkeys on the Dutch side of the island shared with France's Saint-Martin, where they...

Fearless Schoolkids
Catch, Kill 600 Rats

Nov 28, 2022 5:16 PM CST

Fearless Schoolkids Catch, Kill 600 Rats

They want to help rid their New Zealand island of the bird-killing predators

(Newser) - A grinning girl holding the tail of a sizable dangling rat: It's photo evidence of an unusual competition at a New Zealand school, where students hunted down and took out rats in a 100-day effort to help safeguard the local bird population. The local Environment Trust gave traps made...

Illinois Has a New Name for
'Delicious' Invasive Species

Illinois Has a New Name for 'Delicious' Invasive Species

They hope people will eat more Asian carp if it's known as 'copi'

(Newser) - There's a long history of fish being renamed to widen their appeal to consumers—orange roughy was once known as slimehead, and the many names of the monkfish have included goosefish, sea-devil, and frog-fish. Now, it's the Asian carp's turn. Illinois has rebranded the fish as "...

Polish Institute Labels Cats
'Invasive Alien Species'

Jul 26, 2022 1:35 PM CDT

Polish Institute Labels Cats 'Invasive Alien Species'

Biologist Wojciech Solarz defends move spurred by bird deaths

(Newser) - A Polish scientific institute has classified domestic cats as an "invasive alien species," citing the damage they cause to birds and other wildlife. Some cat lovers have reacted emotionally to this month's decision and put the key scientist behind it on the defensive. Wojciech Solarz, a biologist...

Latest Threat to Forests:
Invasive Jumping Earthworms

Jul 4, 2022 12:01 AM CDT

Latest Threat to Forests: Invasive Jumping Earthworms

It turns out earthworms are not always so great for the soil

(Newser) - Earthworms have long been popular with gardeners and fishermen, and no doubt the slimy wigglers play an important role in many ecosystems. However, invasive worms can wreak havoc in forests, especially if they’re Asian jumping earthworms. Also known as crazy worms, snake worms, Georgia jumpers, Jersey wigglers, and sharks...

Destructive Jumping Worms
Are Now in California

Destructive Jumping Worms Are Now in California

They were spotted in the state in July, and they have ecologists worried

(Newser) - It sounds like a decent setup for a horror movie: an area plagued with "extremely active, aggressive" worms that can jump a foot into the air and have "voracious appetites." That's a reality California is staring down right now, according to multiple reports on recent sightings...

Hardy, Non-Native Tree
May Be a Little Too Hardy

May 8, 2022 8:32 AM CDT

Hardy, Non-Native Tree May Be a Little Too Hardy

States are taking efforts to curb spread of Callery pear trees, descendants

(Newser) - Stinky but handsome and widely popular landscape trees have spawned aggressive invaders, creating thickets that overwhelm native plants and sport nasty four-inch spikes. Bradford pears and 24 other ornamental trees were developed from Callery pear trees—a species brought to America a century ago to save ravaged pear orchards. Now,...

These Giant
'Flying' Spiders
May Take Over
East Coast

Mar 8, 2022 10:35 AM CST

These Giant 'Flying' Spiders May Take Over East Coast

'Try to learn to live with them' is scientists' advice

(Newser) - Last fall, Georgia residents were dismayed to make the acquaintance of the Joro spider, a palm-sized, "flying" creature hailing from East Asia that showed up in the Peach State by the millions. Now, scientists say, people further north should prepare, because the 3-inch-long arachnids with bright yellow stripes, also...

Gypsy Moth Gets a New Name

UPDATED

Mar 7, 2022 4:42 PM CST

Gypsy Moth Gets a New Name

The spongy moth's old name was considered a slur

(Newser) - Update: Scientists have settled on a new name for the gypsy moth, a damaging invasive species whose name was considered a slur by Romani people. The Entomological Society of America says a group of more than 50 scientists considered around 200 nominations and settled on "spongy moth," which...

Army Is Creating
a 'Zone of Chaos'
for Invasive Carp

Jan 31, 2022 2:15 PM CST

Army Is Creating a 'Zone of Chaos' for Invasive Carp

They hope acoustic, bubble, and electric barriers will keep them out of Lake Michigan

(Newser) - The US Army Corps of Engineers wants to send a message to invasive carp trying to enter the Great Lakes through Chicago-area waterways: Welcome to Hell. The Biden administration has released funding for a project that will create a "zone of chaos" for the unwanted fish, Cleveland.com reports....

Calif. OK's Plan to
Blanket Islands In Poison

Dec 19, 2021 9:35 AM CST

Calif. OK's Plan to Blanket Islands In Poison

Mice threaten wildlife at Farallon Islands

(Newser) - The California Coastal Commission has approved a plan to poison invasive mice threatening rare seabirds on the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, per the AP . The agency that regulates California's coastline voted 5-3 Thursday night to approve a plan to drop about 3000 pounds of poisoned bait from helicopters...

Escobar Had 4 Hippos. Dozens
Now Threaten Colombia

Oct 18, 2021 12:03 PM CDT

Escobar Had 4 Hippos. Dozens Now Threaten Colombia

Wildlife officials are now sterilizing the invasive species, whose population has exploded

(Newser) - Play a word association game using "Pablo Escobar" to start, and you'll likely hear such terms as "drug lord," "cocaine," and "murderer." "Hippos" may also come up if you're playing with anyone from Colombia, where the animals have surged in...