Black locust - Robinia pseudoacacia
Origin: North America (blickwinkel)
blickwinkel.de
Asian predatory wasp - Vespa velutina
Origin: southern China, Thaïland, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia (Biosphoto)
Box tree pyralids or the Western corn rootworm might not mean much to most of us, but they are some of the many animal and plant species that have arrived in Switzerland over the past few years.
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The authorities have invested in important means to help turn back the tide and reduce damage to the ecosystem. The sap of the giant hogweed can cause burns and blisters on a person’s skin, while the Asian long-horned beetle can kill off a tree in just a few years. Here are some mugshots of the worst pests threatening humans, nature and farming.
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Asian insects make a beeline for Switzerland
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“There have been a few non-native insects in Switzerland for several years, but we’re now seeing a worrying spike in numbers,” says Stève Breitenmoser, an entomologist at the Changins-Wädenswil agroscope research station. “The main reason for the proliferation of all these insects is the rise in trade and transcontinental shipping,” says Breitenmoser. “But some species…
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Since explorer Christopher Columbus set sail and bumped into America in 1492, more than 10,000 species of plants and animals are thought to have found their way to Europe. In recent years the boom in international trade has accelerated the problem, creating the need for more stringent rules on the import of potentially nuisance plants…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.