Alien plants promote the spread of invasive insects
Published: Tuesday, Nov 5th 2024, 16:10
Back to Live Feed
Alien plants promote the spread of invasive insect species. They settle where their food plants already exist. This was discovered by an international research team with the participation of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research.
This makes it easier for insects to establish themselves and spread further. The increasing occurrence of harmful, invasive insect species could lead to greater damage to the environment, biodiversity and the economy, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) announced on Tuesday.
One example from Switzerland of such an invasive insect species is the marmorated stink bug. This fruit and vegetable pest, also known as the "stink bug", is notorious for its foul-smelling defensive secretion. The tree bug's host plants, the tree of heaven and the summer lilac, are abundant in Switzerland, the report continued.
The research team assumes that the number of invasions will continue to rise, thereby exacerbating the problem in the future. Biosecurity measures against plants and insects, such as regulations on the import and pesticide treatment of plants, are important. It is also important that garden owners prefer native plants to non-native ones. Measures such as the ban on the sale of the Chinese hemp palm, known as the "Ticino palm", help here.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic