Mental Floss

Which Invasive Species Are Near You? Find Out With This Interactive Map

People love to hate spotted lanternflies. This map shows what other creatures you should be hating on, too.
ByEllen Gutoskey|
Sorry to this little guy but feral swine are a huge problem.
Sorry to this little guy but feral swine are a huge problem. | MIXA/GettyImages

When it comes to invasive species, spotted lanternflies are the villain du jour. Though they’ve only been making mainstream news for a handful of years, the first infestation was reported in Pennsylvania way back in 2014. Since then, they’ve proliferated throughout the Mid-Atlantic and inched their way into the Midwest and beyond.

  1. How Invasive Species Are Catalogued
  2. How to Explore the Invasive Species Map

But they’re far from the only invasive species in the U.S. With this interactive map, you can find out which flora and fauna are wreaking havoc on ecosystems near you.

How Invasive Species Are Catalogued

The map is part of EDDMapS, an invasive species tracking platform created by the University of Georgia’s Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health in 2005. As of this month, it includes 9.1 million records of invasive species across the U.S. and Canada—a combination of other organizations’ data and crowdsourced sightings by volunteers.

If you’re interested in contributing, you can register here. EDDMapS verifies all reports before adding them to the database, so don’t worry about accidentally mucking up someone’s research by mistaking a harmless native shrub for its invasive evil twin.

Black and white lizard with its tongue out sitting on a rock with a black background
The black and white tegu doesn’t belong in Florida. It couldn’t care less. | Paul Starosta/GettyImages

How to Explore the Invasive Species Map

Just feel like exploring the data? That’s fine, too. The map defaults to showing records from the past month, but you can enter whatever date range you want. You can also filter for records from a single state and/or county; records of a particular species; and records in a particular category (including amphibians, birds, chewing insects, fish, mammals, hardwood trees, grass or grasslike plants, and many more). 

Click on an individual record to see photos and other information about the species. In Florida, for example, EDDMapS contributors have recently spotted the island apple snail (Pomacea maculata), the Cuban tree frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis), and the Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae), to name just a few creatures.

The map is a great way to learn what to keep an eye out for when you’re out exploring the natural world. EDDMapS also has information on how to report invasive species to officials in each U.S. state and territory.

As for spotted lanternflies, please kill them—here’s how.

Learn More About Invasive Species:

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