When you dig in your garden and find worms, you probably think that I have always been here in America. Actually, early European settlers brought me over to North America during the 1600's and 1700's. Many travelers back then would bring plants with them from their country. I tagged along in the soil around the roots of these plants. (You can learn more about these times at Jamestown Timeline .)

A lot of people think that all foreign insects, weeds, and animals are bad. I'll bet you can think of several that are very common harmful pests such as Japanese Beetle, gypsy moth, and the Asian long-horned beetle. These were all brought in and soon became very harmful to plants we grow in our gardens. What damage do these insects cause?

As an imported foreign animal, I am a little different though. If I hadn't been brought over, your soils and gardens would be very poor. If I did have any ancestors in this country before I was brought over, they were probably wiped out during the last Ice Age 10,000 to 50,000 years ago.

What other things can you think of that were brought to America by the immigrants?