A Dangerous Scorpion Was Found Hiding In Cargo Before It Could Establish A Potentially Devastating Invasive Presence On A Highly Populated Island
Every region of the world contains invasive insects. Invasive insects are non-native insects that have the ability to establish a presence, and reproduce, within a foreign land. Invasive insects can have a tremendously negative impact on the ecosystems that they inhabit. In addition to being environmentally damaging, invasive insects can also pose a threat to public health and can be economically disastrous as well. For example, here in America, the highly destructive Formosan subterranean termite is invasive. Formosan termite colonies reproduce more rapidly than native termite colonies, and they are responsible for at least one billion dollars in damage every year in America alone. While Formosan termites may only cause economic and, to a lesser extent, environmental damage in America, Africanized honey bees are a perfect example of invasive insects that pose a threat to public health in the US.
Although invasive insects are bad news in any region, island ecosystems are more negatively affected by the presence of invasive species than larger areas of land. This is because an island’s wildlife and vegetation evolved independently from the plant and animal life on continents. Invasive insects on islands are not held in check by natural predators. In these situations, invasive insects can hunt native island-wildlife into extinction. Invasive insects on islands are particularly alarming when the invasive insect or arachnid in question is naturally aggressive by nature. Recently, a scorpion was spotted and removed from cargo destined for Bermuda. By spotting this scorpion before the cargo left for the island of Bermuda, a potentially disastrous economic and environmental catastrophe may have been averted.
The residents of many islands around the world, Bermuda included, are urged by the government to be on the lookout for invasive species. Once the scorpion was spotted among cargo destined for Bermuda, the man who found the arachnid immediately called government employed environmental officers who cleared the rest of the cargo. In response to the important find, Mark Outerbridge, a wildlife ecologist at the government’s environment and natural resources department, publicly thanked the staff members who spotted the scorpion, as they may have saved Bermuda from an environmental disaster. The species of scorpion spotted within the cargo was the dangerous striped bark scorpion that is native to North America.
Have you ever spotted a striped bark scorpion in the wild?
