History of insect invasions offers insight into the future

Over the past two centuries, thousands of non-native insects have hitchhiked to the United States in packing material, on live plants, and in passenger baggage. Scientists with two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies and their partners used the history of live plant imports and invasion by a common group of insects to estimate the rate at which new insects are arriving and how many new insect species may yet be in store for U.S. forests and agricultural fields.