Thistle #Carduus #acanthoides is #native from Southern/Central #Europe to China and is a #neozoan i.a. in #NorthAmerica. It prefers moist, nitrogen-rich #soils, such as on #Teufelsberg #Berlin, and is #pollinated by bees/bumblebees and dispersed by the wind. E. S. J. Rauschert et al. (2015) studied the plants around it in #Pennsylvania (USA) and found that it affects the #speciescommunities.

© #StefanFWirth 2025

Ref
E. S. J. Rauschert et al. (2015)
https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plv065

#Photos
©S.F. Wirth

Last evening in #Berlin, I found a #beetle on my bicycle, a #scarab, which I thought is #nonnative. Rightly so, as #Mimela #junii is a #neozoan in Central Europe, native mainly to southern France/north Italy,. Adults feed on leaves, larvae on roots/decaying material in sandy soil. Thomaes, A. et al. (2022) demonstrate, using Belgium, that it's spread to Central/WesternEurope was likely due to #humantransport. #globalwarming.
© #StefanFWirth 2025

Ref
https://pureportal.inbo.be/files/81797098/Bull_158_T1_2022_THOMAES_SCHEERS_VAN_KEER.pdf

Photos
© S. F. Wirth

The #butterfly #Pieris #rapae (#Pierinae) is native to #Europe, Asia and North Africa. It is a #neozoan in North America since the 19th century and e.g. in Australia since the 20th.. In Central Europe, it has up to four #generations per year.
Snell-Rood E.C. & Kobiela M.E. (2023) published a general protocol for controlled rearing making the species a #researchmodel.

© #StefanFWirth #Berlin 2025

Ref.

Snell-Rood E.C. and Kobiela M.E. (2023)
https://doi.org/10.3791/65383

Photos
© S.F.Wirth 2025

The #warmthloving #paperwasp #Polistes #dominula (Polistinae) was originally native to central/ southern Europe and Asia, but is increasingly spreading towards Scandinavia due to #globalwarming. In e.g. Australia and #NorthAmerica it occurs as #neozoan. 50 or more nest cells are created by one or several young #queens with the strongest subdueing its competitors. The wasp can be #parasitized by #Xenos #vesparum (#Strepsiptera).
© #StefanFWirth #Berlin 2025