Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2013 11:50:31 GMT -5
Hardy breed of roach moves into NYC
BY FRANK ELTMAN
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The High Line, a park that turned a dilapidated stretch of elevated railway on Manhattan’s West Side into one of New York’s newest tourist attractions, may have brought a different kind of visitor: a cockroach that can withstand harsh winter cold and never seen before in the U.S.
Rutgers University insect biologists Jessica Ware and Dominic Evangelista said the species Periplaneta japonica is well documented in Asia but was never confirmed in the United States until now. The scientists, whose findings were published in the Journal of Economic Entomology, say that it is too soon to predict the impact but that there is probably little cause for concern.
“Because this species is very similar to cockroach species that already exist in the urban environment,” Evangelista said, “they likely will compete with each other for space and for food.”
That competition, Ware said, will likely keep the population low, “because more time and energy spent competing means less time and energy to devote to reproduction.”
Michael Scharf, a professor of urban entomology at Purdue University, said the discovery is something to monitor.
“To be truly invasive, a species has to move in and take over and outcompete a native species,” he said. “There’s no evidence of that, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be concerned about it.”
The newcomer was first spotted in New York in 2012, by an exterminator working on the High Line.
The scientists suspect the critter was likely a stowaway in the soil of ornamental plants used to adorn the park.
Powered by TECNAVIA Copyright © 2013 Observer-Dispatch 12/09/2013
UticaOD e-edition
We also have the big problem with the ash bor beetle which will kill of ash tree's in NYS. That beetle came from Asia in wood imports.
BY FRANK ELTMAN
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The High Line, a park that turned a dilapidated stretch of elevated railway on Manhattan’s West Side into one of New York’s newest tourist attractions, may have brought a different kind of visitor: a cockroach that can withstand harsh winter cold and never seen before in the U.S.
Rutgers University insect biologists Jessica Ware and Dominic Evangelista said the species Periplaneta japonica is well documented in Asia but was never confirmed in the United States until now. The scientists, whose findings were published in the Journal of Economic Entomology, say that it is too soon to predict the impact but that there is probably little cause for concern.
“Because this species is very similar to cockroach species that already exist in the urban environment,” Evangelista said, “they likely will compete with each other for space and for food.”
That competition, Ware said, will likely keep the population low, “because more time and energy spent competing means less time and energy to devote to reproduction.”
Michael Scharf, a professor of urban entomology at Purdue University, said the discovery is something to monitor.
“To be truly invasive, a species has to move in and take over and outcompete a native species,” he said. “There’s no evidence of that, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be concerned about it.”
The newcomer was first spotted in New York in 2012, by an exterminator working on the High Line.
The scientists suspect the critter was likely a stowaway in the soil of ornamental plants used to adorn the park.
Powered by TECNAVIA Copyright © 2013 Observer-Dispatch 12/09/2013
UticaOD e-edition
We also have the big problem with the ash bor beetle which will kill of ash tree's in NYS. That beetle came from Asia in wood imports.
