Insidious alien species threat to livelihoods, biodiversity
Lazarus Sauti After habitat destruction, invasive alien plant and animal species are proving to be the biggest threat to biodiversity in Zimbabwe as they are altering intact habitats, placing ecosystems at great risk as well as displacing indigenous species that are beneficial to an environment. Multiple species of armyworm moths, for instance, are putting down to waste huge areas of farmland across Zimbabwe, threatening livelihoods and food security in the country still wobbling from a ravaging spell of drought. These moths raze like swarms of locusts, a fact supported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which reports that the invasion includes both the native African armyworm ( Spodoptera exempta ), plus the vicious fall armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda ) – alien species that originated in the America’s. Entomologist, Dr. Godfrey Chikwenhere, says these invasive non-indigenous species can lay six generations of around 50 eggs in a single lo