Enlarge / Tawny crazy ants (Nylanderia fulva) feeding on a cricket. (credit: Lawrence E. Gilbert) Several years ago, staffers at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, Texas, noticed a new type of invasive ant species. Tawny crazy ants were so aggressive that they were driving birds out of their nests and occasionally swarming over […]
Enlarge / Tourist boats could potentially bring invasive species to the Antarctic region. (credit: Andrew Peacock ) Right now, the Antarctic and the waters around it are surprisingly free of invasive species. According to new research, however, that situation might change in the not-too-distant future, thanks to a shocking level of connectivity with ports across […]
Enlarge / The Robo-bass, along with some actual fish. (credit: Giovanni Polverino) The mosquitofish is a particularly troublesome invasive species that has spread from its original home in North America to various locales around the world, including Europe and Australia. The small, 3 cm-long fish likes to chew the tails off fish and tadpoles and […]
Enlarge / Does this look like the face of someone who started off as a cannibal? Why yes, it does. (credit: REDA & CO / Getty Images) The cane toad may be the poster animal for invasive species. Native to South America, it has been introduced to many other ecosystems in the hope it would […]
Enlarge (credit: Lori Oberhofer/NPS) In addition to being home to men with questionable decision-making skills, Florida also seems to have some issues with bizarre animal behavior, whether it’s freezing iguanas dropping from trees or alligators battling pythons in the Everglades. When it comes to those animals, however, Floridians can truly put the blame on non-natives. […]
Enlarge / “What are you looking at?” The Asian Giant Hornet, aka a “murder hornet,” is not to be trifled with. (credit: Gary Alpert) In November 2019, a beekeeper in Blaine, Washington, named Ted McFall was horrified to discover thousands of tiny mutilated bodies littering the ground: an entire colony of his honeybees had been […]