Apple Snails and the Threat to the United States

Question: What is the apple snail and why is it a threat to the United States?

Answer: The island apple snail is kind of the common name or the referral of what everybody kind of seems to call it, there are actually two different species: one is a Pomacea canaliculata, and the other is a Pomacea insularum. Both of these are the invasive species that everybody seems to be referring to. The common name is island apple snail, the other common name is a channelized apple snail. Both of these are invasive. They seem to populate fairly quickly. The biggest problem with them right now is they’re competing with native snails, and they’re very aggressive eaters, so they’re wiping out native vegetation. The biggest, I guess, problem is that they eat rice. So they’re a huge threat to the U.S. rice market.