Termite
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Termites can invade homes and cause a lot of damage. Termites that invade new countries can damage more than just homes. The Formosan subterranean termite was accidentally brought to the United States on infested ships. These invaders have disrupted ecosystems and caused billions of dollars in damage to buildings, crops, and trees. Look inside to learn more about these termite invaders and find out what experts are doing to fight back.
Zebra Mussel
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Zebra Mussels are known for their striped shells and clingy habits. These natives of Europe and Asia traveled to North America in by ship. Learn more about why the zebra mussel poses a threat to native animals and the health of North American waterways.
Giant African Snail
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
How the Giant African Snail destroyed field crops and flower gardens and spread diseases to people thousands of miles from their native Africa.
Walking Catfish
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
The Walking Catfish have upset the balance of the ecosystems and hurt local economies.
Africanized Honey Bee
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Honeybees are known for their familiar buzzing and honey production. Learn how an experiment meant to increase honey production created aggressive Africanized honeybees that have taken over territory and caused big problems for beekeepers, farmers, and anyone unlucky enough to disturb them.
Monitor Lizard
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
The Monitor Lizard is large; adults can grow up to 7 feet in length. A vicious predator that will eat anything it can fit into its mouth. Native to Africa, the Monitor Lizard has successfully established a new home in Florida, disrupting an already delicate ecosystem.
Asian Carp
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Asian carp have big appetites and can leap out of the water when startled. They were brought to the United States from their native Asian habitats to control algae growth on fish farms. Find out what happened when some of these big, jumping fish escaped and made their way up the Mississippi River.
Emerald Ash Borer
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Emerald Ash Borers have shiny green bodies and an appetite for ash trees. This native Asian insect hitchhiked to North America and has killed millions of ash trees. Learn more about the emerald ash borer and what is being done to try to stop its spread.
Python
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Less than a decade ago, there were only a few pythons in the everglades. Today more than 100,000 of them are slithering around south Florida, crushing what was already a delicate ecosystem. Readers will be introduced to the concepts of invasive species and challenged to think critically about the cause, effect, and control of dangerous creatures.
Cane Toad
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Cane toads are known for their warty skin and poison glands. They were brought to Australia and other places to help control pests that were harming crops. Learn more about how the cane toad has gone from being farmer's friend to an unwanted pest.
Sea Lamprey
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
the Sea Lamprey have invades the Great Lakes where they have killed off native species and harmed the fishing industry. Find out hoe they arrived, the problems they cause and other places that are on the lookout for these animals.
Gray Squirrel
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Gray squirrels are known for their bushy tails and hoarding habits. These North American natives were imported to parts of Europe and South Africa as pets, but quickly went from pets to unwanted pests. Learn more about the problems caused by invasive gray squirrels and what can be done to solve them.
Fire Ant
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Fire ants are tiny, but they pack a powerful sting. Some kinds of fire ants were accidentally brought to North America from South America in cargo ships. Look inside to learn how these invasive fire ants have spread to many places around the world and why they are a threat to wildlife, human beings, and economies.
American Mink
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
American mink have beautiful, thick, glossy fur. At one time, many were exported to other countries where farmers raised them for their fur. Find out what happened to native species when fur went out of fashion and many minks were released into the wild.
Brown Treesnake
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
How the Brown Tree Snake made themselves at home, disrupted the island's ecosystem, and created problems for its people and native animals.
Wild Boar
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Centuries ago, explorers brought hogs to the Americas as a food source. Some of these boars made it into the wild, where their offspring have managed to survive ever since. Wild boars will eat almost anything from garbage, to crops, to other animals. They can also spread disease. Read this book to find out more about how wild boars cause problems around the world and what experts are doing to find solutions.
Bullfrog
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Bullfrogs are big eaters, consuming almost anything that fits in their mouths. Meals include birds, turtles, snakes, and even other frogs. At one time, bullfrogs lived only in North America and east of the Rocky Mountains. Today, the large frogs have invaded many parts of the world, causing problems for native wildlife. Look inside to discover how bullfrogs became an invasive species and what is being done to help stop their spread.
Small Indian Mongoose
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
The Small Indian Mongoose was imported to the Hawaiian Islands to control the rat population. Now, it threatens to disrupt the ecosystem of the island. Read this book to learn how this happened and what can be done to control this invasive species.
Starling
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Starlings have glossy feathers and are aggressive competitors for nesting sites. Native to Europe and Asia, these birds were introduced to North America, Australia, and South Africa. Find out why these feathered invaders pose a threat to native birds species and farm crops.
Australian Spotted Jellyfish
Part of the 21st Century Skills Library: Animal Invaders series
Swarms of the dinner-plate-size invasive Australian Spotted Jellyfish have been reported from East Texas to Florida in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coastlines of Florida and South Carolina. These creatures present a major threat to the shrimp fishery. Readers will be introduced to the concepts of invasive species and challenged to think critically about the cause, effect, and control of dangerous creatures.
