A butterfly that is an alien? Yes. The White Cabbage Butterfly was accidentally brought to Quebec, Canada in 1860. Now that was a long, long time ago and they are now very common on our continent. These butterflies lay a lot of eggs and can do that five or six times a year which is why there are so many of them. Their caterpillars are pests in the garden. They love to eat the leaves on plants that farmers are trying to grow to feed us! Vegetables like cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

This is usually the first butterfly you will see in the spring. Look for it this year.

 
European Starling

 

Sometimes a person has a good idea that goes bad and this is the case with the bird called the Starling. A man named Shakespeare who you may have heard about was a writer. He named a lot of birds in his writing. A fan of his wanted to bring to the United States all the birds Shakespeare wrote about and he did in 1890. The Starling was that bird.

The Starling liked the United States so much his family now lives all over our continent and in great, great numbers. You probably know people who like to live where it is warm and others who don't. Well, the Starling, it will live anywhere, the country, the city, in the forest or near a pond and it eats a lot. They are very aggressive and will take over nests used by birds that were here first like the Eastern Bluebird. You see many more starlings than bluebirds.

 

 

For a list of other invasive species in Connecticut, please vist the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's website at http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2702&q=323494&depNav_GID=1641

 

 

Nocturnal - This describes animals that are quiet or sleep during the day but are very busy and hunt for food at night.
Aggressive - In an animal this would mean they were strong, competitive or pushy.
Stowaways - Someone or something that hides on a ship or train to get somewhere so they don't have to pay for the ticket.