Invasive Species

An entomologist with the Washington State Department of Agriculture vacuums invasive Asian giant hornets out of a nest discovered last week in the city of Blaine on October 24, 2020.

Entomologists Destroy Asian Giant Hornet Nest Found in Washington

The crew sucked nearly 100 hornets from the tree-hollow hive—the first ever found in the U.S.—using a vacuum and captured escapees with nets

Last month in Brooklyn, a man dumped two bags full of eels into Prospect Park Lake. They're thought to be Asian swamp eels, seen here.

Man Seen Dumping Bags of Eels Into Lake at New York City Park

Officials say the non-native eels are unlikely to survive the winter, but experts caution that the serpent-like fish could still disturb the ecosystem

In southern Italy, two varieties of olive trees, some infected with a disease called Xylella fastidiosa, a bacteria carried from tree to tree by a little bug, and some resisting the infection

Why Tree-Killing Epidemics Are on the Rise

Globetrotting pathogens have caused forest-felling disasters that scientists are doing their best to contain

The emerald ash borer first appeared in Michigan in 2002.

Invasive Pest Threatens Future of North American Ash Trees

A new study shows that ash tree populations are not growing fast enough to replace the trees killed by ash borer larvae

The first infestation of spotted lanternflies in the U.S. was found in Berks County, Pennsylvania in 2014.

Invasive Spotted Lanternflies Reach Eight New Jersey Counties

The insect is an 'excellent hitchhiker,' says the New Jersey Department of Agriculture

Jenni Cena, pest biologist and trapping supervisor from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), checks a trap designed to catch Asian giant hornets on July 29, 2020.

Scientists Capture First Murder Hornet in Washington State

It’s a step in the direction of eliminating the invasive species, experts say

A healthy coral reef in the South Pacific. Coral reefs may migrate to new area as the climate warms.

Should Plants and Animals That Relocate Because of Climate Change Be Considered Invasive?

Some researchers are calling for a more nuanced approach when it comes to flora and fauna that adjust their range to accommodate a warming world

Like statues, animals named after controversial historic figures are sparking a conversation about "relics of systemic oppression" in science.

A Bird Named for a Confederate General Sparks Calls for Change

McCown’s longspur has launched a renewed reckoning over the troubling histories reflected in taxonomy

Volunteers repair and re-chalk the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset, England. The 180-foot figure has been on the grassy hillside as long as anyone alive can remember, but many wondered if it might be thousands of years old. Now, new evidence suggests the drawing dates not to the prehistoric period, but to medieval times.

Snail Shells Date England's Cerne Abbas Giant to Medieval, Not Prehistoric, Era

Researchers are conducting additional testing aimed at confirming the chalk figure's age and origins

The endangered smoky mouse was feared to be extinct after the 2019-2020 fire season in Australia. But researchers have spotted survivors in seven locations, offering hope for the species' persistence.

Australian Mouse Feared Extinct After Fires Found Alive

Camera traps spotted the endangered smoky mouse in seven different locations

Smithsonian researchers studied 67 forest plots in a section of the Blue Ridge Mountains. They found that hemlock woolly adelgid had decimated hemlock populations.

Decades of Tree Data Reveal Forests Under Attack

Smithsonian researchers with ForestGEO found that invasive species are linked to roughly one in four tree deaths in a section of the Blue Ridge Mountains

A rhesus monkey photographed in Florida in 2017.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like a Horde of Herpes-Infected Monkeys?

Feral rhesus macaques are invasive in Florida, but there are no easy solutions for managing them

European honeybees are used by commercial beekeepers worldwide to pollinate crops and produce honey.

These Bees Fight Varroa Mites With Help From Special Engineered Bacteria

Honeybees with engineered microbiomes were more likely to survive both mites and the viruses they carry

Researchers monitored the decay of feral pig carcasses to understand what happens to ecosystems where many animals have died at once

To Study Mass Die-Offs, Scientists Dumped 15 Tons of Feral Pig Carcasses Into a Field

The rotting, putrefying bodies flooded with insects, attracted scavengers and devastated local plants and microbes

A rancher tends to several small feral hogs in a pen in Texas. But in the wild, these hogs are considered invasive—and they're headed north.

Feral Pigs Are Invasive, Voracious and Resilient. They're Also Spreading

The destructive swine are expanding their range in the United States and appear to be encroaching from Canada

Popular lore posits that Jimi Hendrix, or perhaps the crew of classic Hollywood film The African Queen, released the invasive species in the U.K., but a new study suggests otherwise.

Contrary to Popular Legend, Jimi Hendrix Did Not Introduce an Invasive Parakeet to the U.K.

A new study debunks several colorful theories about how ring-necked parakeets became the most abundant naturalized parrot across the pond

A northern snakehead caught in the Potomac River in 2004.

An Invasive Fish That Can Breathe and Move on Land Has Been Found in Georgia

Officials have issued blunt instructions to anyone who spots a northern snakehead: ‘Kill it immediately’

Ian Bartoszek and Katie King recapture the 50-pound sentinel snake Johnny, who has led his minders to 18 adult Burmese pythons for removal.

The Snakes That Ate Florida

Bounty hunters and biologists wade deep into the Everglades to wrestle with the invasion of giant pythons threatening the state's wetlands

A 14-inch goldfish caught downstream of a wastewater treatment plant in the Black Rock Canal of New York’s Niagara River

Giant Goldfish Shows Why You Should Never Flush Fish Down the Toilet

Invasive goldfish threaten the livelihood of native species, growing unchecked by predators and monopolizing habitats’ limited resources

A 10-Mile-Wide Ladybug Swarm Buzzed Over San Diego

At first, meteorologists thought the shadow on the radar was a storm. But this cloud didn't bring rain

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