00:00This is the story of a cargo ship on its way to Europe.
00:09Inside a container, an insect patiently waits to disembark, to make its nest.
00:15Thousands of exotic species have been introduced to our continent, either by accident or deliberately.
00:22But what can be done when they become invasive, threatening ecosystems and the economy?
00:26This is what we're going to see in this episode.
00:41We begin our journey in France.
00:44Here there's one we're all familiar with, the Vespa Velutina, also known as the Asian
00:50Hornet.
00:51I'm asking people if they've ever seen Asian Hornets.
01:14These hornets are thought to have one common ancestor, a queen slipped into a pot imported
01:19from China by a French horticulturalist in 2004.
01:23Since then, the insect has conquered the whole of France and part of Europe.
01:34That's because a colony consumes an average of 11 kilos of insects a year.
01:38In France, the Asian Hornet is thought to be responsible for a third of all honeybee
01:42deaths.
01:43In autumn, predation is lower.
02:06It's a good time of the year to trap the animal.
02:09not to kill other insects.
02:25So to reduce its impact, French authorities are calling for nests to be reported and systematically
02:30destroyed.
02:31This man in action is researcher Eric Derosier, an Asian Hornet expert.
02:35We caught up with him at a private home where they have taken up residence.
03:05In his laboratory at the University of Tours, the scientist is developing a new trapping
03:31system based on the alarm pheromone that animals secrete when in danger.
03:56But the researcher also believes that it's too late to eradicate the species.
04:01Predation is where it counts.
04:25The Asian Hornet is on the list of 88 invasive alien species of union concern, 41 plants
04:32and 47 animals.
04:35The EU regulation imposes restrictions such as trade and requires member states to develop
04:39management measures.
04:42Let's head to the south of Spain, where there's another source of concern.
04:46It lives underwater.
04:48The Rugulopteryx Okanwure, a seaweed that has also come from Asia.
04:53In the summer, masses of algae cover the sands and removing it costs taxpayers a lot
04:59of money.
05:00Here on this famous beach in Cadiz, the city has removed more than 300 tons of seaweed
05:04this year.
05:08Locals and tourists don't really like to see it here.
05:12Spain has set up a national strategy to control this algae, which also has a huge impact on
05:18fishing.
05:19We headed to the port to find out more.
05:34That's a key point.
05:53The ecosystem is becoming uniform.
05:56This native plant looks like it's been drained of life.
06:15For several years now, the plant seems to have been gaining ground.
06:18First detected in 2015 near Gibraltar, it has since been spotted off the coast of places
06:23like Marseille, Palermo and the Basque Country.
06:33These scientists are trying to unravel the mystery of this lightning invasion, and they're
06:37pessimistic.
06:38So, the researchers from the Junta de AndalucÃa are studying the impact of the species that
06:58feed on it and on their offspring, like these sea urchins, in order to provide accurate
07:02data for the sustainable management of this algae.
07:28Marketing of this invasive seaweed is still banned, but as part of a European project,
07:32they're looking for ways to make use of this abundant biomass.
07:50That's the end of this trip.
07:52See you soon on the road to green.
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