 Invasive species are those that cause harm in their newly occupied area , where biological control may be attempted . The first @-@ detected invasive mole cricket species was Neoscapteriscus didactylus , a South American species reported as a pest in St. Vincent , West Indies as early as 1837 ; by 1900 , it was a major pest of agriculture in Puerto Rico . It had probably slowly expanded its range northwards , island by island , from South America . The only biological control program against N. didactylus was in Puerto Rico , and it succeeded in establishing the <unk> wasp Larra bicolor from <unk> Brazil . In 2001 , N. didactylus in Puerto Rico seemed to be a pest only in irrigated crops and turf . Small scale experimental applications of the nematode Steinernema scapterisci were made in irrigated turf , but survival of the nematode was poor . Very much later , this same species was reported as a pest in Queensland , Australia , presumably arriving by ship or plane . The next @-@ detected invasive species was in the late 19th century in Hawaii , probably by ship . It was named as Gryllotalpa africana , but was probably G. orientalis . It attacked sugarcane and was targeted with Larra <unk> from the Philippines in 1925 , apparently successfully . 
