An entomologist, invasive species expert fills his freezer with insects
Insects may be small animals, but they can make a name for themselves in their environment and in the economy of countries. Mark Hodel, director of the Invasive Species Research Center at the University of California, Riverside, travels the world, fighting insects that destroy important export products or ecologically important plants, and studying them.
Hodel keeps samples in his laboratory so that he can test the DNA of the insects and donate them to research collections. Sometimes he also catches insects ahead of time, before they do damage in the United States, and saves them for future reference. "It's hard to predict what the next invasive pest will be," he says. "That way, when he shows up, I already have a target marked."
The rhinoceros coconut beetle (Orycte rhinoceros)
Mark Hodel collected this beetle when it attacked a palm tree in Sumatra, Indonesia. This insect, a serious pest of coconut trees, has not yet arrived in the US, but Hodel is already prepared: he has the beetle's DNA for quick identification.
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Avocado seed moth (stenoma catenifer)
The larvae of this moth bore holes in the avocado fruit and turn it into pulp. Hodel and his colleagues worked in Guatemala, Peru and Mexico, the moth's natural habitat, and collected the insect's sex pheromones. These materials could be used as a warning system that would warn before his invasion of the USA. He also collected samples of the moth's natural enemies, which could be set free to slow the spread of the pest if it took root in California.
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The coconut weevil (Rhynchophorus vulneratus)
This palm weevil appears to have arrived in Laguna Beach, California from Bali, Indonesia, says Hodel, who studied the beetle's DNA. He speculates that some traveler brought some beetles to the US as a side dish (Indonesians eat them), tried to raise them in his home, and then released them.
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The oak bark (Argilus auroguttatus)
This oak borer beetle, native to southern Arizona, invaded California and wreaked havoc: it killed about 80,000 oaks in the Cleveland National Preserve in San Diego County. Hodel believes that travelers who gathered firewood in Arizona and brought it to California unintentionally spread the bug in this way.
The article was published with the permission of Scientific American Israel
One response
The coconut weevil, or by its other name the red palm weevil, is an invasive species in Israel as well.