Did you know the American bullfrog arrived in British Columbia to supply a frog leg industry that never took off?
Or that approximately 200 million European starlings in North America are here thanks to a Shakespeare fan?
Aliens Among Us is a travelling Royal BC Museum exhibition on British Columbia's invasive species.
The exhibition runs from March 9 to June 2 at the Richmond Nature Park and invites visitors to interact with some of the province's best-known and least-loved invasive species.
And the public is invited to the grand opening on Saturday, March 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to welcome the exhibit to the park.
Dr. Melissa Frey, Curator of Invertebrates from the Royal BC Museum, will be leading tours of the exhibit throughout the day, and refreshments will be available.
"There are over 4,000 alien species in the province and that number grows each year," said Gavin Hanke, Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Royal BC Museum.
"Some of these aliens are invasive - they spread quickly, threaten native wildlife and are hard to control."
American bullfrogs, Scotch broom, smallmouth bass and purple loosestrife are just a few of the species featured in Aliens Among Us.
The exhibition tells the stories of how the invasive species arrived in the province, what individuals can do to protect their communities and how these aliens fit in - or don't fit in - with their environments.
"Alien species are threatening habitats throughout B.C.," said Richmond Nature Park Society president Brenda Bartley-Smith.
"A number of these plant and animal species have gone undetected and some are so abundant that many people believe they are part of the natural ecosystem.
"This exhibit will help people to understand which of our plant and animal species in Richmond are "aliens," how they got here, and what people can do about them."
