Insects aren’t the largest or most intimidating invasive animals, but they are among the most destructive. Many invasive insect species devastate important trees and plants, causing losses running into billions. Without natural predators, disease, and other pressures from their homes to keep them in check, their populations can explode to disastrous numbers. They may be small, but these insects have done serious damage since invading the United States
1. Dotted lantern fly
The spotted lantern fly came to the United States from northern China in 2014 as a relatively new type. Since its discovery in Berks County, Pennsylvania, the insect species has spread to neighboring states in the mid Atlantic. It is known for its large, black-spotted gray wings and destructive behavior. Spotted lanterns eat sap from more than 70 different plant species, including important plants like grapevines, maples, and black walnut trees. Lantern flies can lay up to 200 egg masses on a host plant, and the beetles’ sugary secretions are known to encourage mold growth. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the insect could cost the state $ 324 million a year if not controlled.
2. Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
It may be hard to remember, but there was a time when the brown marbled stink bug wasn’t part of the North American ecosystem. The first specimens in the US were collected in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1998, although they may have arrived a few years earlier – possibly on a shipping container from their native East Asia. Stinkbugs have since spread across the country. In addition to their harsh spray, the insects are notorious for their threat to agriculture. They are known to eat at least 100 types of plants. It is estimated that brown marbled stink bugs caused $ 37 million in damage to mid-Atlantic apple plants as early as the 2010 season.
3. Asian citrus syllable
The spread of the Asian citrus flea seed was disastrous for the citrus industry. The tiny insect from South Asia has been present in the US since 1998 and is now found in 10 states, including Florida and California. The Asian citrus flea seed feeds on carpels and stems, but the greatest threat is the spread of disease. The beetles can carry bacteria that cause huanglongbing or a citrus green disease. It is deadly to trees and is already costing Florida’s agriculture billions in losses.
4. Emerald Ash Borer
They may look pretty, but emerald green ash cutters are considered a pest in many parts of North America. In their larval state, the beetles burrowed into ash trees and consumed the inner bark. Hundreds of millions of trees on the continent have succumbed to the invasive species in this way. A shipment of wood materials from China probably brought the insect to the United States in 2002. Today they are active in at least 30 states.
5. Formosan termite
Originally from China, the Formosan termite has spread all over the world. It was first noticed in the continental United States in the 1960s and has since established itself in the south. The insect species is characterized by massive colonies and destructive appetites. A population of Formosan termites contains up to several million specimens. At these numbers, the beetles can cause serious damage to large wooden structures such as houses.
6. Gypsy moth
The arrival of the gypsy moth in North America can be traced back to a poorly thought out business program. By the late 1860s, the disease had plagued traditional silk moth populations, and enterprising entomologists were looking for new insects to add to them. Étienne Léopold Trouvelot of Medford, Massachusetts was one of them, and in 1868 or 1869 he received a parcel of silk-producing insects from France. Some of the eggs in the package belonged to the gypsy moth – an insect native to Eurasia. After Trouvelot cultivated them in his back yard, some moths escaped and reproduced in the wild. Little did he know that gypsy moth caterpillars feed on 300 species of trees and shrubs, often removing their leaves and making them susceptible to other pathogens. The moths are currently found in 20 states in the Midwest and East Coast.
7. Asiatic longhorn beetle
This long antenna Beetle, discovered in New York in 1996, comes from Korea and China. Today it inhabits parts of Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina. The larvae of the insect species threaten hardwood trees by boring into them and feeding on living tissue. According to the USDA’s Animal and Phytosanitary Inspection Service, the Asian longhorn beetle can cause more damage to trees than Dutch elm disease, chestnut rot and gypsy moth combined.
