Species library
Browse invasive species
Search curated invasive species profiles by common name, scientific name, taxonomy group, native range, and impact notes.
26 published species
Asian longhorned beetle
Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky, 1854)
A wood-boring beetle that attacks maples and other hardwood trees.
Brown marmorated stink bug
Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855)
A broad-feeding stink bug that damages crops and overwinters in buildings.
Burmese python
Python bivittatus
A large constrictor snake established outside its native range in parts of Florida.
Cheatgrass
Bromus tectorum
An annual grass that invades rangelands and dry habitats in western North America.
Emerald ash borer
Agrilus planipennis
A wood-boring beetle that attacks ash trees and has spread widely in North America.
European green crab
Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1758)
A shore crab established on parts of North America's Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
European starling
Sturnus vulgaris
A cavity-nesting bird introduced to North America that thrives in urban and agricultural areas.
Feral swine
Sus scrofa
A highly adaptable wild pig that damages farms, forests, wetlands, and native species.
Giant hogweed
Heracleum mantegazzianum
A tall invasive plant whose sap can cause severe skin burns after sunlight exposure.
Grass carp
Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, 1844)
A large herbivorous carp introduced for aquatic vegetation control.
Hemlock woolly adelgid
Adelges tsugae
A sap-feeding insect that infests hemlock trees and is recognizable by white woolly egg sacs.
Hydrilla
Hydrilla verticillata
A submerged aquatic plant that forms dense mats in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs.
Kudzu
Pueraria montana
A fast-growing vine that blankets trees, structures, and open land.
Nutria
Myocastor coypus (Molina, 1782)
A semi-aquatic rodent that feeds heavily on marsh vegetation.
Purple loosestrife
Lythrum salicaria
A wetland plant that produces purple flower spikes and dense stands.
Quagga mussel
Dreissena bugensis (Andrusov, 1897)
A freshwater mussel related to zebra mussels that colonizes hard and soft substrates.
Red imported fire ant
Solenopsis invicta
An aggressive ant species that establishes large colonies in disturbed habitats.
Round goby
Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814)
A bottom-dwelling fish introduced to the Great Lakes through ballast water.
Saltcedar
Tamarix ramosissima
A riparian shrub or small tree that invades stream corridors and arid-region waterways.
Sea lamprey
Petromyzon marinus
A parasitic fish that invaded the Great Lakes and attaches to large fish.
Silver carp
Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Valenciennes, 1844)
A plankton-feeding carp that can form dense populations in large rivers.
Spongy moth
Lymantria dispar
A defoliating moth whose larvae feed on many hardwood trees.
Spotted lanternfly
Lycorma delicatula (White, 1845)
A planthopper that feeds on many plants and spreads through egg masses on transported materials.
Tree of heaven
Ailanthus altissima
A fast-growing tree that spreads by seeds and root sprouts and is a preferred host for spotted lanternfly.
Water hyacinth
Pontederia crassipes
A floating aquatic plant that forms dense mats in warm freshwater systems.
Zebra mussel
Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771)
A freshwater mussel that spreads rapidly by attaching to boats, infrastructure, and native mussels.