List of invasive species in Italy

Many species of plants, animals, and other organisms are considered invasive species in Italy.

Plants

A female of Ailanthus altissima bearing a heavy load of seeds in Valladolid, Spain

Black locust ( Robinia pseudoacacia )

• Ailanthus altissima (Tree of heaven)
• Amorpha fruticosa (Desert false indigo)
• Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Amrosia artemisifolia)
• Carpobrotus edulis (Hottentot fig)
• Caulerpa racemosa (Grape caulerpa)
• Caulerpa taxifolia , Mediterranean clone
• Crassula helmsii (Australian swamp stonecrop)
• Eichhornia crassipes (Water hyacinth)
• Elodea canadensis (Canadian pondweed)
• Gleditsia triacanthos (Honey locust)
• Heracleum mantegazzianum (Giant hogweed)
• Hydrocotyle ranunculoides (Floating pennywort)
• Impatiens glandulifera (Himalayan balsam)
• Myriophyllum aquaticum (Parrot feather)
• Reynoutria japonica (syn. Fallopia japonica) (Japanese knotweed)
• Robinia pseudoacacia (Black locust)

Fungi

• Ophiostoma ulmi (Dutch elm disease)

Animals

Platyhelminthes

• Bothriocephalus acheilognathi (Asian tapeworm) ^[1]
• Bipalium kewense (Shovel-headed garden worm) ^[2]

Molluscs

Marine

A shell of the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha

• Crassostrea gigas (Pacific oyster)
• Crepidula fornicata (Common slipper shell)
• Rapana Venosa (Veined rapa whelk)

Freshwater

• Corbicula fluminea (Freshwater bivalve mollusk)
• Dreissena polymorpha (Zebra mussel)
• Potamopyrgus antipodarum (New Zealand mud snail)
• Sinanodonta woodiana (Chinese pond mussel)

Crustaceans

Louisiana crawfish ( Procambarus clarkii )

• Dikerogammarus villosus (Killer shrimp) ^[3]
• Eriocheir sinensis (Chinese mitten crab)
• Orconectes limosus (Eastern crayfish)
• Pacifastacus leniusculus (Signal crayfish)
• Procambarus clarkii (Louisiana crawfish)

Insects

Asian lady beetle ( Harmonia axyridis )

• Aedes albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito)
• Brachyponera chinensis (Asian needle ant) ^[4]
• Cacyreus marshalli (Geranium bronze)
• Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Chestnut gall wasp)
• Drosophila suzukii (Spotted-wing drosophila) ^[5]
• Harmonia axyridis (Asian lady beetle)
• Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Colorado beetle)
• Linepithema humile (Argentine ant)
• Ricania speculum (Black planthopper) ^[6]
• Solenopsis invicta (Red imported fire ant) ^[7]

Amphibians

• Lithobates catesbeianus (American Bullfrog)
• Xenopus laevis (African clawed frog)

Birds

A male of Rose-ringed parakeet ( Psittacula krameri ) in India

• Alopochen aegyptiacus (Egyptian goose)
• Myiopsitta monachus (Monk parakeet) ^[8]
• Psittacula krameri (Rose-ringed parakeet) ^[9]

Fish

• Ameiurus melas (Black bullhead)
• Gambusia affinis (Eastern mosquitofish)
• Lepomis gibbosus (Pumpkinseed sunfish)
• Pseudorasbora parva (Stone moroko)
• Micropterus salmoides (Largemouth Bass)

Mammals

A coypu ( Myocastor coypus )

• Eutamias sibiricus (Siberian chipmunk)
• Callosciurus finlaysonii (Finlayson's squirrel)
• Mustela vison (American mink)
• Myocastor coypus (Coypu, nutria)
• Nyctereutes procyonoides (Raccoon dog)
• Ondatra zibethicus (Muskrat)
• Rattus norvegicus (Brown rat)
• Rattus rattus (Black rat)
• Sciurus carolinensis (Grey squirrel)
• Procyon lotor (Common raccoon) ^[10]

Reptiles

• Trachemys scripta elegans (Red-eared slider)

References

1. "Bothriocephalus acheilognathi". Invasive Species Compendium. Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
2. <E. Mori et al.> (26 September 2021). "Discovering the Pandora's box: the invasion of alien flatworms in Italy" (PDF). Biological Invasions. Springer Nature. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
3. Casellato, Sandra; La Piana, Giovanni; Latella, Leonardo; Ruffo, Sandro (2006). "Dikerogammarus villosus (Sowinsky, 1894) (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Gammaridae) for the first time in Italy". Italian Journal of Zoology. 73 (1): 97–104. doi:10.1080/11250000500502293.
4. Menchetti, Mattia; Schifani, Enrico; Gentile, Vincenzo; Vila, Roger (2022). "The worrying arrival of the invasive Asian needle ant Brachyponera chinensis in Europe (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Zootaxa. 5115 (1): 146–150. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5115.1.9.
5. Cini, Alessandro; Claudio, Ioriatti; Gianfranco, Anfora (2012). "A review of the invasion of Drosophila suzukii in Europe and a draft research agenda for integrated pest management" (PDF). Bulletin of Insectology. 65 (1): 149–160.
6. Galetto, Luciana; Pegoraro, Mattia; Marzachì, Cristina; Rossi, Elisabetta; Lucchi, Andrea; Bosco, Domenico (1 August 2019). "Potential role of the alien planthopper Ricania speculum as vector of Flavescence dorée phytoplasma". European Journal of Plant Pathology. 154 (4): 1103–1110. Bibcode:2019EJPP..154.1103G. doi:10.1007/s10658-019-01731-0. hdl: 11568/1005055 . ISSN   1573-8469.
7. Menchetti, Mattia; Schifani, Enrico; Alicata, Antonio; Cardador, Laura; Sbrega, Elisabetta; Toro-Delgado, Eric; Vila, Roger (2023). "The invasive ant Solenopsis invicta is established in Europe". Current Biology. 33 (17): R896 –R897. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.045.
8. Emiliano, Mori; Mirko, Di Febbraro; Massimiliano, Foresta; Paolo, Melis; Enrico, Romanazzi; Andrea, Notari; Francesca, Boggiano (2013). "Assessment of the current distribution of free-living parrots and parakeets (Aves: Psittaciformes) in Italy: a synthesis of published data and new records" (PDF). Italian Journal of Zoology. 80 (2): 158–167. doi:10.1080/11250003.2012.738713.
9. Menchetti, Mattia; Mori, Emiliano; Angelici, Francesco Maria (2016). Effects of the recent world invasion by ring-necked parakeets Psittacula krameri. Springer International Publishin. pp. 253–266. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-22246-2_12. ISBN   978-3-319-22246-2.
10. Mori, Emiliano; Mazza, Giuseppe; Menchetti, Mattia; Panzeri, Mattia; Gager, Yann; Bertolino, Sandro; Di Febbraro, Mirko (2015). "The masked invader strikes again: the conquest of Italy by the Northern raccoon". Hystrix. 26 (1): 47–51. doi:10.4404/hystrix-26.1-11035.