4 ms·

This is what happens when we've destroyed the habitats of birds and amphibians.

joecool1029 8y ago
No, it’s what happens when you ship shit from China and nasties hitch a ride. BMSB, chestnut blight, camel crickets, asian ladybugs, dutch elm disease, the emerald ash borer, and this lantern fly are just some of the things we have to thank global trade for. EDIT: Forgot to shout out to the ghetto palm mentioned in the article, which is another introduced species that the lanternfly is attracted to. (It earned its name for thriving on city pollution, it is also likely the fastest growing tree in North America now)
- bluejekyll 8y ago
  It’s pretty unlikely that global trade is going to be rolled back. Instead of tariffs, we should be protecting our industries by forcing pest removal on all shipments from overseas. This would be more effective use of the money and properly align the economics and risks of global trade. The net outcome would be similar.
  - jchb 8y ago
    Doesn't the US have any quarantine requirements on imported products? I could find requirements for live animals, but for other goods? The EU [1], like Australia [2] has quarantine requirements on certain imported goods, including plants. How well the ones in EU are enforced I don't know. For sure they are not well enforced for individuals arriving to airports - you can just walk straight in with your suitecases. Compared to Australia, which I understand has very strict controls also for individuals arriving. [1]https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_health_biosecurity/non_eu_trade_en https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_health_biosecurity/non... [2]https://www.business.gov.au/products-and-services/importing-and-exporting/quarantine-requirements-for-imported-goods https://www.business.gov.au/products-and-services/importing-...
- ip26 8y ago
  To be fair, woodpeckers for example prey on EAB. So more woodpeckers could only help, though of course they probably wouldn't have been able to completely stop the EAB.
  - macawfish 8y ago
    If the US was covered in woodpeckers and other birds, the EAB might have become "just another bug". But in most of the US, woodpeckers are like unicorns.
- HillaryBriss 8y ago
  a related and very expensive agriculture problem is citrus greening, spread by the invasive insect Diaphorina citri (aka Asian Citrus Psyllid). citrus greening (aka Huanglongbing) has severely damaged citrus groves in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Florida and Texas.
- macawfish 8y ago
  Sure, that's the direct cause of invasive species. And I agree that there are measures that can and should be taken to measure and slow the flux of new species into established ecosystems. But biodiversity is a huge protective measure against invasive species gaining a foothold in the first place, and habitat destruction is by far the largest short term threat to biodiversity. My point is that habitat loss is the biggest factor in making these plagues possible at this scale. Diverse ecosystems are much more likely to be able to adapt relatively quickly to a new species than blighted habitats. I think its a huge farce to be focusing on "pest control" without getting to the root of the problem, biodiversity. We must be replenishing and rejuvenating biodiversity if we want to have any hope of realistically absorbing invasive species. And biodiversity has to be the focus over conservation. Our ecologies are not history museums. They're dynamically evolving, living superorganisms, and we should care for them appropriately.
  - ip26 8y ago
    biodiversity is a huge protective measure against invasive species gaining a foothold in the first place In support of this point- dutch elm & EAB would not be the scourges they have been, if we had not so heavily planted elms, and then after they were destroyed, ash. The monoculture of one type of tree, aka lack of diversity, is part of what makes the huge population explosion of the parasites possible.

No, it’s what happens when you ship shit from China and nasties hitch a ride. BMSB, chestnut blight, camel crickets, asian ladybugs, dutch elm disease, the emerald ash borer, and this lantern fly are just some of the things we have to thank global trade for. EDIT: Forgot to shout out to the ghetto palm mentioned in the article, which is another introduced species that the lanternfly is attracted to. (It earned its name for thriving on city pollution, it is also likely the fastest growing tree in North America now)

bluejekyll 8y ago
It’s pretty unlikely that global trade is going to be rolled back. Instead of tariffs, we should be protecting our industries by forcing pest removal on all shipments from overseas. This would be more effective use of the money and properly align the economics and risks of global trade. The net outcome would be similar.
- jchb 8y ago
  Doesn't the US have any quarantine requirements on imported products? I could find requirements for live animals, but for other goods? The EU [1], like Australia [2] has quarantine requirements on certain imported goods, including plants. How well the ones in EU are enforced I don't know. For sure they are not well enforced for individuals arriving to airports - you can just walk straight in with your suitecases. Compared to Australia, which I understand has very strict controls also for individuals arriving. [1]https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_health_biosecurity/non_eu_trade_en https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_health_biosecurity/non... [2]https://www.business.gov.au/products-and-services/importing-and-exporting/quarantine-requirements-for-imported-goods https://www.business.gov.au/products-and-services/importing-...
ip26 8y ago
To be fair, woodpeckers for example prey on EAB. So more woodpeckers could only help, though of course they probably wouldn't have been able to completely stop the EAB.
- macawfish 8y ago
  If the US was covered in woodpeckers and other birds, the EAB might have become "just another bug". But in most of the US, woodpeckers are like unicorns.
HillaryBriss 8y ago
a related and very expensive agriculture problem is citrus greening, spread by the invasive insect Diaphorina citri (aka Asian Citrus Psyllid). citrus greening (aka Huanglongbing) has severely damaged citrus groves in Southeast Asia, Latin America, Florida and Texas.
macawfish 8y ago
Sure, that's the direct cause of invasive species. And I agree that there are measures that can and should be taken to measure and slow the flux of new species into established ecosystems. But biodiversity is a huge protective measure against invasive species gaining a foothold in the first place, and habitat destruction is by far the largest short term threat to biodiversity. My point is that habitat loss is the biggest factor in making these plagues possible at this scale. Diverse ecosystems are much more likely to be able to adapt relatively quickly to a new species than blighted habitats. I think its a huge farce to be focusing on "pest control" without getting to the root of the problem, biodiversity. We must be replenishing and rejuvenating biodiversity if we want to have any hope of realistically absorbing invasive species. And biodiversity has to be the focus over conservation. Our ecologies are not history museums. They're dynamically evolving, living superorganisms, and we should care for them appropriately.
- ip26 8y ago
  biodiversity is a huge protective measure against invasive species gaining a foothold in the first place In support of this point- dutch elm & EAB would not be the scourges they have been, if we had not so heavily planted elms, and then after they were destroyed, ash. The monoculture of one type of tree, aka lack of diversity, is part of what makes the huge population explosion of the parasites possible.