By Alice Rossignol and Rachael Gleason
Editor’s note: Great Lakes SmackDown! Terrestrial Terror is an ongoing Great Lakes Echo series.
On the other side of the bracket and competing for a shot at the championship are the European starling and the beech scale.
The starling has proven its prowess with skills like spreading fecal matter, posing as an air safety threat and competing with other cavity-nesting birds. But can it compete with the beech scale whose side-sick fungal friend helps it kill beech trees?
The competition is steep and the time is now. Help us decide below.
Fighter Profiles:
Alias: Shakespeare’s Darling
Legal name: Sturnus vulgaris
Home Turf: Europe, Asia, Africa
U.S. Fighting Debut: 1890
Agent: Embarrassingly enough, this darling starling was introduced intentionally as part of a plan to introduce all birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s play to the U.S.
Preferred Great Lakes Fighting Arena: All Great Lakes states and provinces
Weight/Size class: Length: 7.9—9.1 Wingspan: 12.2—15.7 Weight: 2.1—3.4.
Fighting Skills:
- This avian intruder is highly adaptable and is described by Cornell University’s The Birds of North America as: “arguably the most successful avian introduction to this continent,” and has earned a title on the top “100 of the World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species.”
- A formidable foe, starlings out-compete native species especially cavity-nesting birds.
- These birds have a knack for damaging fruit and grain crops like blueberries and cherries. A 2000 study estimated that starlings cause $800 million of damage to U.S. crops per year. Ouch.
- Sick of these frequent fliers? Well, that’s because they can make you sick. European starlings have been known to carry diseases like meningitis and salmonellosisn that can be passed to livestock and poultry. Some diseases can also be passed to humans.
Life Expectancy: Up to 20 years.
Offspring: 1 to 2 clutches of 4 to 6 eggs per year.
Alias: The Bark Butcher
Legal name: Cryptococcus fagisuga
Home Turf: Europe
U.S. Fighting Debut: Michigan in 2000 and Wisconsin in September 2009
Agent: Accidental introduction by an unknown agent.
Preferred Great Lakes fighting arena: Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario
Weight/Size class: 1 mm long
Fighting Skills:
- The Beech scale isn’t a “fun-guy” at all. The invasive critter feeds on tree sap, which paves the way for destructive fungi to invade unsuspecting trees. The resulting condition is referred to as the “Beech Bark Disease,” a growing problem in Great Lakes states.
- Dead trees ravished by the disease are a threat to campers. Although necessary, it’s difficult and costly to remove infested trees and branches.
- As Beech scales are feeding on tree sap, their legs become stuck to the surface. They spent their last moments tragically trapped by their own gluttony.