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RE: Human influence on invasive species
It's hard to even imagine what some of our ecosysttems looked like before the invasive exotics got here. And some, right now, are breaking my heart. The loss of the ash trees in the eastern US by the Emerald Ash Borer just breaks my heart. White ash, blue ash, green ash, black ash - so many ash tree where I used to live in southern Michigan. And they are virtually all gone now. Just since 2002. And the borers are spreading, too. Breaks my heart.
We too in Canada are losing our trees to the Emerald Ash Borer, once infected the trees die, there is no fix except to remove the tree. We had so many removed last year in our neighborhood. The other nasty is the Asian Longhorn Beetle. It's about the size of a nickel - who uses those today? But there are restrictions regarding this beetle - wood can't be delivered from one place to another in some cases. I believe these nasties kill Maple trees. Our native tree! The one I war against the most is the Japanese Beetle. We had such a huge infestation for a couple of years. The beetles do not have a predator - birds do not like them, skunks and raccoons don't eat their larvae. We lost most of our bushes and a few trees and all of our fruit trees to this beetle. The are attracted to mostly red foilage and fruits. Some people use a Japanese Beetle trap - it looks like a yellow flying tube...attracts them from over 1km - that's the problem. The are attracting them to our area with this trap but the beetles find other gardens on the way.
The only way to get rid of them is to hand pick them from the leaves in the morning and late afternoon. They are disgusting but it's the only way. Carry a bucket of warm soapy water and knock them in. The grubs from these are a lot bigger than other grubs. We lost our lawn, grape vine, peach tree, cherry tree, Japanese Maple, Burning Bush, Holly bushes, Hydrangea, Peonies and more. Ick Ick Ick!!!!
The other remedy is plant native plants and buy nothing that has a hybrid or has come from another country or a non native area....that's what we did and didn't have one beetle this year.
Wow - you have been waging battle on a lot of fronts. Wait until you get the spotted wing drosophila, too - it's headed your way and is tough business for cherries, especially. The Japanese beetles sound really bad - eating anything and everything. And those Asian Longhorn Beetles - ouch. I admit to buying about a decade's worth of maple syrup, just because of them. They will change the face of the whole northern hardwood forests. Now we know what folks felt like when the chestnuts and American elm were dying. I'm with you on shipping plants all over the place -- and wooden pallets, too. Buy local or start from seeds. We just have to hang in there...
I should post a picture of the japanese beetle plague....so disgusting.
Yes, indeed! It's worth a post - and a warning to folks about not carrying firewood long distances when folks go on the road camping.
Thanks so much for your comment and contribution. Today I've learned about invasive beetles on Canada and United States!! I had no idea that North America was having such a bad experience with invasive insects. Choosing native plants it's a very wise option :)
Thank you for commenting and sharing that ash tree situation. That's so sad, indeed as ash are such beautiful trees. I googled a little and found this site and that there was some biological control already taking place. Hope those wasps can contain it! Some vegetation ecologists study the potential vegetation based on phytosociological data, wich helps in a recovery plan. But it's not the same...
You're welcome. People are working hard to figure something out. In the meantime, all the other parts of our ecosystems have to adapt - us, too. Your post prompted a lot of thinking!
Guess I did. Love this kind of interaction on Steemit, it let me think on some diseases our native trees (oak trees) are facing, but not with that ash borer brutality!!
Those Phytophthora are such a trouble-causing genus. I wonder if there are any good ones - any!
Answering here because the comment chain hit its limit.
i don´t know either. Every time I heard about Phythopora it had a negative connotation...:(
Here on the US West Coast, the Oak Wilt is a huge, huge problem. I wonder what your oak trees are facing? There is no end to the stresses on our trees these days! But we can appreciate them now.
Here, on South Portugal, our cork and holm oak trees are facing a lot of diseases, but the harmful is a fungus disease (Phytophthora cinnamomi) that propagates by their roots. Prophylaxis plays an important role in the inhibition of this disease, but there are a lot of owners that don't know how to contain this disease, (yet).