Invasive Species

Article and stories about invasive species in our state and other places.

Finger Lakes invasion of spotted lanternfly predicted | News | fltimes.com

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Finger Lakes invasion of spotted lanternfly predicted | News | fltimes.com

GENEVA — The Finger Lakes may be invaded by the spotted lanternfly soon.

The insect is an invasive pest from Asia that feeds primarily on trees and a variety of plants, including grapevines, hops, maple, walnut and fruit trees. It arrived in Pennsylvania in 2014. They have spread to Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and now New York, starting on Long Island and in downstate areas.

They pose a risk to state agricultural and forest health, as they use their sucking mouth parts to feed on the sap of more than 70 plant species, making the plants vulnerable to disease and attacks from other insects. Officials worry that the spotted lanternfly will harm the state’s grape and apple crops.

Round gobies, an invasive fish species, found in Hudson River south of Albany – newyorkupstate.com

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DEC: Round gobies, an invasive fish species, found in Hudson River south of Albany – newyorkupstate.com

The Hudson River has a new invasive species – round gobies.

State Department of Environmental Conservation fisheries staff members captured four at two locations in the Hudson River approximately 12 and 25 miles downstream of the Troy dam during routine fish sampling on July 13 and 14. This marks the the first documented occurrence of this invasive fish in the river.

The small, bait-size fish is native to the Black and Caspian seas and was likely introduced by ballast water to the Great Lakes in the 1990s. It has the potential to cause ecological and recreational impacts.

NY unleashes predator bugs to eat hemlock pests | Adirondack Explorer

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NY unleashes predator bugs to eat hemlock pests | Adirondack Explorer

Hemlocks are the fourth most populous tree in the Adirondack Park, and woolly adelgids are so small they can spread easily on the wind. The DEC continues to survey, but getting to remote locations and spotting infestations early is difficult, to say the least.

So the state is using all of its tools in the toolbox—or in the cooler—to treat the trees on Lake George. In addition to applying and injecting insecticides on the trees, the DEC is coordinating the introduction of three new species on Lake George, all of them bugs that love to eat adelgids

Jumping Worms Are Taking Over North American Forests – The Atlantic

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Jumping Worms Are Taking Over North American Forests – The Atlantic

"They seem so symbolic of a healthy ecosystem,” Dobson says. For their stellar reputation, they can thank none other than Charles Darwin. In addition to developing the theory of evolution, Darwin studied earthworms for 40 years at his home in England.

With characteristic curiosity and rigor, the naturalist conducted all manner of earthworm experiments: He observed their reaction to the sound of the bassoon (none) and to the vibrations of a C note played on the piano (panic). He watched how they pulled leaves into their burrows, and tested their problem-solving skills by offering them small triangles of paper instead (most figured out how to drag them by a corner). Darwin also measured how quickly worms covered up a large paving stone in his garden with their castings. He estimated that they could move at least 10 tons of soil per acre per year.

‘Crazy worms’ have invaded the forests of 15 states, and scientists are worried | Live Science

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‘Crazy worms’ have invaded the forests of 15 states, and scientists are worried | Live Science

Some call them crazy worms. Pick one up, and you'll see why, as the creepy-crawly jerks, writhes and springs out of your hand. (It may even leave its tail behind, as a grim souvenir.) And now, scientists are finding the wrigglers have spread to at least 15 states across the U.S.

The worms of the genus Amynthas — also known as snake worms, Asian jumping worms and Alabama jumpers, according to Smithsonian Magazine — are a highly invasive lot that first made their way to North America in the 19th century, stowed away on ships carrying plants and dirt. Since then, they've spread, well, like crazy, and have now been sighted in more than a dozen states, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Texas, Louisiana, Indiana, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Oklahoma, Newsweek.com reported.

They resemble common earthworms, only smaller and brownish in color. However, their reputation is far more sinister. Adult crazy worms reproduce quickly and without mates, laying clutches of eggs the same color as the soil, according to Smithsonian. Once they hatch, the worms swiftly devour the nutrients in the topsoil around them, leaving behind a loose, grainy mess that resembles coffee grounds.

This nutrient-depleted soil erodes quickly, leaving little sustenance for native plants, or competing species of worms and fungi, Brad Herrick, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told PBS Wisconsin.