Invasive species
Invasive species are one of the largest threats to our ecosystems, weakening them and creating a growing pressure on agriculture and plant life. Invasive species, or ‘alien’ non native species compete or predate on native plants that have not been able to develop adaptations to cope with them. One of the most dangerous invasive species is the Asian Longhorned Beetle, which infests a variety of hardwood trees in North America and Northeastern Asia. The Asian Longhorned Beetle originates from China and Korea, but was first discovered in the United States on Long Island in 1996. This Beetle spends its most destructive period when it’s in its larval stage, where it burrows deep within the bark of a tree and feeds on the food …show more content…
larva has 5 stages of development known as “instars”, and before entering full adulthood can grow up to 5cm. The main human transmission of these bugs is from moving around firewood, live trees or other fallen timber, as the larvae live hidden deep inside the trunks of the trees. They spread by natural means of flying, and can travel over 400 yards in distance. Their migration depends greatly on the abundance of hardwood or other host materials. The only known methods to combat this species is to ultimately destroy the infested trees, most effectively by burning, chipping, or cutting down the tree. Eradicating the host material stops larvae from spreading and maturing, which prevents them migrating to other areas. This is considerably damaging to the economy, as even with early identification farmers/owners lose a majority of the hardwood infected. The speed at which this species spreads is immense, for example in the 1980’s they were discovered in China's poplar forests. Within only a few years, hundreds of millions of trees were infested, and the Chinese government had to cut tens of thousands of acres of forest to prevent further
Invasive species are one of the largest threats to our ecosystems, weakening them and creating a growing pressure on agriculture and plant life. Invasive species, or ‘alien’ non native species compete or predate on native plants that have not been able to develop adaptations to cope with them. One of the most dangerous invasive species is the Asian Longhorned Beetle, which infests a variety of hardwood trees in North America and Northeastern Asia. The Asian Longhorned Beetle originates from China and Korea, but was first discovered in the United States on Long Island in 1996. This Beetle spends its most destructive period when it’s in its larval stage, where it burrows deep within the bark of a tree and feeds on the food …show more content…
larva has 5 stages of development known as “instars”, and before entering full adulthood can grow up to 5cm. The main human transmission of these bugs is from moving around firewood, live trees or other fallen timber, as the larvae live hidden deep inside the trunks of the trees. They spread by natural means of flying, and can travel over 400 yards in distance. Their migration depends greatly on the abundance of hardwood or other host materials. The only known methods to combat this species is to ultimately destroy the infested trees, most effectively by burning, chipping, or cutting down the tree. Eradicating the host material stops larvae from spreading and maturing, which prevents them migrating to other areas. This is considerably damaging to the economy, as even with early identification farmers/owners lose a majority of the hardwood infected. The speed at which this species spreads is immense, for example in the 1980’s they were discovered in China's poplar forests. Within only a few years, hundreds of millions of trees were infested, and the Chinese government had to cut tens of thousands of acres of forest to prevent further