Dandelions.
2 Likes
They’re invasive?
In some places. They quite easily become invasive in subalpine areas, even if they tend to grow mostly in disturbed areas at lower elevations.
4 Likes
House geckos.
8 Likes
I’ll add my vote for feral pigeons. I’m not sure they can be considered invasive since they only survive in cities and decaying farms. Humans cultivated these birds for centuries. They provided food, fertilizer, entertainment and even fought in our wars. Now most people consider them winged rats. Its a shame.
6 Likes
William, many of Gianna’s comments about House Sparrows also apply to House Geckos:
- Often the only gecko species in urban areas
- Cute
- Lovable!
1 Like
One day, maybe, I will get to see a hammerhead worm in its native habitat. In the meantime, I do love observing the invasive ones wherever I come across them. Part of the fascination is that flatworms as a group are just so esoteric, and land-dwelling flatworms even more so.
8 Likes
Yes, they’re native to Eurasia.
2 Likes
Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, the red palm weevil.
Here in Italy this species is considered invasive because its larvae infest ornamental palm trees, leading them to an often inevitable death.
The weevils also consume the native palm tree Chamaerops humilis, but this plant is not threatened by them thanks to its ability to quickly replace infested stems, making the weevil’s ecological impact negligible.
As someone who believes in the importance of native plants in gardening and urban greenery I’m not concerned about the fate of ornamental exotic palms, and people’s constant losing battle against the beetle amuses me.
Why waste so much money on useless palms instead of just planting what’s meant to be there in the first place?
6 Likes
Great Tit. Their impacts aren’t studied here, so I don’t know that they can be called invasive, but certainly they must compete with native cavity-nesting birds to some degree. But, they’re just so cute! And colorful. And they make fun noises.
2 Likes
None of these are technically invasive yet but they are persistant and weedy in spots. I really like seeing chamomile and things like lycoris radiata when I come across them. spider flower is also a favorite of mine. In terms of animals, while mediterranean house geckos aren’t exactly invasive(they form their own niche here without impacting other things) I also love seeing them on walls and I think they give a bit more character to urban settings.
2 Likes
The great tit is a very dominant, aggressive and opportunistic species, always the first one to defend and occupy my nest boxes in spring.
It wouldn’t surprise me if it had a very negative impact on other birds outside of its native range.
3 Likes
Hammer headed worms are pretty neat. The neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (The stuff in fugu pufferfish ovaries) is present in Bipalium adventitium, which is pretty cool to me.
2 Likes
Are they really? I read (source: Samuel Thayer) that there is no real evidence that dandelions are non-native, and that many species are considered introduced because some people from the 1700’s thought that a species couldn’t possibly be native to both North America and Eurasia.
Also, are all introduced species invasive? I thought that invasive meant that the species harms other (native) species, often on a large scale. For example, the plantain, or “white man’s footstep”, is non-native to the US and Canada, but does nothing but sit there and be useful.
1 Like
From what I know, the introduced species that don’t do anything harmful are just referred to as “Naturalized”, basically they’ve found somewhat of an equilibrium and aren’t bothering much. So, Ring-Necked Pheasent eats a bunch of different plants along with the native quail, turkey, etc, but doesn’t necessarily outcompete them. (They may outcompete other animals in some places, and to some degree, but they don’t do the same damage that, say, lanternflies do.)
5 Likes
Tragopogon (Salsify). When I first saw the seed-heads I thought they were big dandelions. This is a photo I took the first time I saw one in 2008 shortly after moving to Utah.
8 Likes
Coconuts, of course! I cannot imagine life without a single coconut palm tree around me. They’ve taken hours of my time (peeling the coconuts) and given me amazing moments enjoying coconuts and coconut water (but I live in Mexico, so they are of course not native and sometimes quite invasive). SO this thread fell to me like ‘‘the ring to the finger’’, as we say here in Mexico.
1 Like
Brook Trout!! Here in WA State they are displacing and out-competing native trout (especially bull trout) but they are SO pretty. The combo of orange belly, soft blue spots, and white highlights are just chef’s kiss
6 Likes
WOAH! Didn’t think they were that huge!
1 Like
People who love their manicured lawns certainly consider dandelions harmful… but that’t me, I love my fields that are carpeted in yellow (and later in puffballs) in the spring. I imagine farmers consider them invasive, too.
But yes, there is a difference between “non-native” and “invasive”.
And it’s not always a clear cut distinction.
Dandelions are what immediately popped into my mind when I read the topic.
But I could’ve said “purple loosestrife” which is perhaps more widely accepted to be truly invasive (in New England), but is stunningly beautiful in large colonies along roadsides, ditches, stream banks, and pond edges. And it’s popular with pollinators, including native bumble bees and butterflies.
2 Likes