INTRODUCTION TO INSECT BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY - THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BEAUTIFUL - NON-INDIGENOUS SPECIES IN FLORIDA

An excessive proportion of adventive (= ''non-indigenous'') species in a community has been called ''biological pollution.'' Proportions of adventive species of fishes, amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals in southern Florida range from 16% to more than 42%. In Florida as a whol e, the proportion of adventive plants is about 26%, but of insects is only about 8%. Almost all of the vertebrates were introduced as captiv e pets, but escaped or were released into the wild, and established br eeding populations; few arrived as immigrants (= ''of their own voliti on''). Almost all of the plants also were introduced, a few arrived as immigrants (as contaminants of shipments of seeds or other cargoes). In contrast, only 42 insect species (0.3%) were introduced (all for bi ological control of pests, including weeds). The remainder (about 946 species, or 7.6%) arrived as undocumented immigrants, some of them as fly-ins, but many as contaminants of cargoes. Most of the major insect pests of agriculture, horticulture, human-made structures, and the en vironment, arrived as hitchhikers (contaminants of, and stowaways in, cargoes, especially cargoes of plants). No adventive insect species ca using problems in Florida was introduced (deliberately) as far as is k nown. The cause of most of the so-called biological pollution is the p ublic's demand for ''pet'' animals and ''ornamental'' plants of foreig n origin, the public's environmental irresponsibility in handling thes e organisms, the dealers' willingness to supply these organisms for ca sh, and governments' unwillingness to stem the flow of a lucrative com merce. The cause of almost all of the remaining part is flight, walkin g, swimming, and rafting from adjoining states and from nearby countri es in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. The introduction of s pecialized insect biological control agents, although it contributes t o biological pollution, appears to be an environmentally-sound solutio n to the much greater biological pollution caused by immigrant insects and introduced plants in Florida. Greater concern for insects as livi ng things, or as integral parts of nature, coupled with increased unde rstanding of how problem insects get into Florida, may foster a more e ven-handed approach to the reduction of biological pollution.