From oak wilt to jumping worms: A look at the invasive species threatening Canada

Non-native plant and insect species can have devastating effects on various sectors. Here are four pesky invaders that are keeping Canadians on their toes this summer.

New invasive species are ruffling feathers in Canada and climate change could speed up their spread across the country, experts warn.

Canada is no stranger to invasive species – flora and fauna that are detrimental to agriculture, forests and the overall ecosystem – but the growing discoveries of new non-native pests that have recently crept into the country are raising concern.

“As our seasons get longer and hotter, we risk having more pest life cycles in the summer, therefore allowing them to potentially do more damage,” said Patricia McAllister, national manager of the horticulture section with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

“I think the challenge that we’re facing is that sometimes you don’t know the impact until later on,” she added.

Increasing international travel and trade presents new species with more opportunities to “hitchhike,” said Michael McTavish, a post-doctoral researcher in forestry at the University of Toronto.

“We have more non-native invasive species because the ones we had before are often still present, so it is a cumulative additive kind of effect.”

Here is a look at some of the pesky invaders that are keeping Canadians on their toes this summer:

Last month, the CFIA detected oak wilt in Niagara Falls, Ont. – the country’s first confirmed discovery of the invasive fungal disease which affects oak trees.