Invasive Species in Georgia

1. Invasive Species in Georgia By: Markis Boyd 6th Period Environmental Science

2. Table of Contents • Peach Fruit Fly • Brown Tree Snake • Cat • Small Hive Beetle • Fire Ant

3. Peach Fruit Fly • BactroceraZonata • Insect • It comes from Egypt and Pakistan • Introduced and established by being captured in a fruit fly detection trap on November 10, 2010 • The adult fly is approximately 6 mm long and reddish-brown with yellowish thoracic markings. The transparent wings have a small brown spot on each tip. The white eggs are 1.1 mm long and 0.2 mm wide. The larva of the peach fruit fly is a creamy-white, legless maggot which grows to a length of seven to 10 mm within the fruit. • The Peach Fruit Fly attacks early fruit such as jujube, loquat, peach, and then moves to cucurbits, mango, citrus, guava, pomegranate and sapodilla for the rest of the year. The larvae will normally destroy the interior of the fruit as they feed on the pulp. • They lay an average of 137 eggs in days and 564 eggs in a lifetime. • Most people use chemical pesticides but they try to use safer organic ways such as creating fruit fly traps.

4. Brown Tree Snake • BoigaIrregularis • Reptile • Native to eastern and northern coastal Australia, Papua New Guinea, and a large number of islands in northwestern Melanesia. • Shortly after WW II, and before 1952, the brown tree snake was accidentally transported from its native range in the South Pacific to Guam, probably as a stowaway in ship cargo. • On average the female produces 4-12 oblong eggs. • It is most commonly found in trees, caves, and near limestone cliffs but frequently comes down to the ground to forage at night. It hides during the day in the crowns of palm trees, hollow logs, rock crevices, caves, and even the dark corners of thatched houses near the roof. • Snakes caused the extirpation of most of the native forest vertebrate species; thousands of power outages affecting private, commercial, and military activities; widespread loss of domestic birds and pets; and considerable emotional trauma to residents and visitors alike when snakes invaded human habitats with the potential for envenomation of small children. • To prevent brown tree snakes in the community people insert acetaminophen in mouse carcass and feed it to the snakes.

5. Cat(domestic) • FelisCatus • Mammal • Egypt and areas around Asia • Cats are ancestors to African wildcats. They were introduced to parts of the world because they are pets. • Domestic cats are similar in size to the other members of the genus Felis, typically weighing between 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) and 5 kilograms (11 lb). • Cats average about 23–25 centimeters (9–10 in) in height and 46 centimeters (18.1 in) in head/body length (males being larger than females), with tails averaging 30 centimeters (11.8 in) in length. • Cats are a cosmopolitan species and are found across much of the world • Female cats are seasonally polyestrous, which means they may have many periods of heat over the course of a year, the season beginning in spring and ending in late autumn. • Size of Cat Litter will average from 3-5 kittens. • Live from 12-14 yrs • Feed on cat food, small rodents, birds, few insects • Effects the ecosystem because it feeds on small birds in the community and cats are decreasing its population. • People put cat bibs on their cats to stop them from eating small birds , mammals, etc.

6. Small Hive Beetle • AethinaTumida • Insect • Sub-Saharan Africa • Discovered in the U.S. in 1996. The movement of migratory beekeepers from Florida may have transported the beetle to other states. Recent findings also indicate transport of the beetles in packages. • Aethinatumida was previously known only from the sub-Saharan regions of Africa where it has been considered a minor pest of bees. The life cycle information is known primarily from studies in South Africa. • The small hive beetle is a member of the family of scavengers or sap beetles. The adult beetle is dark brown to black and about one-half centimeter in length. • In reproduction each female can lay an enormous amount of eggs which is two-thirds the size of bee eggs in days so it only takes a few weeks to start the infestation in bee hives. • They life 4-6 months and females can lay up to a thousand eggs during their lifetime. • Eat brood, larvae, and honey in the bee hives. • Impacts the ecosystem because bee’s cannot reproduce to their best ability and honey cannot be made and produced. If there are no bee’s then there is no honey! • Small Hive Beetle’s cannot be eradicated once it is well established. Bee keepers use pesticides within hives and the surrounding soil.

7. Fire Ant! • ginger ants, tropical fire ants, and redants • Solenopsisinvicta • Insect • From South America; Accidentally introduced to Alabama in 1930s • The bodies of fire ants, like all insects' bodies, are divided into three sections: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen, with three pairs of legs and a pair of antennae. Fire ants can be distinguished from other ants by their copper brown head and body with a darker abdomen. The worker ants are blackish to reddish, and their size varies from 2 mm to 6 mm (0.12 in to 0.24 in). These different sizes of the ants can all be present in the same nest. • A queen is generally the largest individual in the colony. Her primary function is reproduction; she may live for 6 to 7 years and can produce up to 3,500 eggs in a single day. That is roughly 9 million in her lifetime. • Males mate with the queen. Their lifespan is 4 to 5 days. • Aggressive, Multiple biter with venom and chance of allergy. They also damage fruits, berries, and young crops. It also damages electric boxes. • Ant mounds are hazard to farm equipment. • If bitten people receive oral treatment from the doctor and farmers use pesticides to get rid of the ant colony.

8. The End!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!