Beautiful Species to Hate: Non-native Bush Honeysuckles: Invasive Lonicera species in the Midwest

Bush Honeysuckles, Lonicera maackii, L. morrowii, L.tatarica, and L. ×.bella, are invasive exotic shrubs naturalized throughout the midwestern United States, eastern United States and eastern Canada. Although most Lonicera populations can be traced to introductions starting in the late 1800’s (Luken 1991). Loniceras' radiation into native habitat has been known since the late 1700’s. In a 1791 letter, Thomas Jefferson mentions “the honeysuckle (probably L. sempirvirens or L. japonica) of the gardens growing wild on the banks’ of the Little George.” In the following pages, I will review our current state of knowledge on bush honeysuckles, including their effects on forest and open field ecosystems, their ecology and physiology, and management strategies for their control or eradication. Although, each of these species have differences in range and aggressiveness, I will treat the bush honeysuckles as a group since they are similar in terms of both their ecology and management. Moreover, several of these species hybridize.