BREAKING NEWS! Asian Longhorn Beetle recorded for first time in the UK

"An outbreak of the Asian longhorn beetle (ALB), an exotic beetle pest which could have severe consequences for British trees, has been found in Kent the Food and Environment Research Agency confirmed today. This is the first time an outbreak of this pest has been found in the UK and it is being treated extremely seriously. Fera and the Forestry Commission are taking urgent steps to try to eradicate the outbreak before it has the chance to spread further afield."

"The beetle is not native to the UK, and poses a serious threat to a very wide range of broadleaved trees and shrubs such as maple (including sycamore), elm, horse chestnut, willow, poplar, birch and some fruit trees."

Read more here:

https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/nonnativespecies/news/index.cfm

New resource available to identify non native freshwater shrimps and isopods

"The Killer Shrimp is just one of the non-native crustaceans that arrived in Great Britain after invading into Europe. To help raise awareness of this and other species and support detection, Defra have funded the Freshwater Biological Association to produce an identification guide to existing and potential new invaders. "

Booklet is free to download from:

https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/nonnativespecies/news/index.cfm?id=77

Slaying the giants

The unmistakable leaves of Giant hogweed have appeared rapidly with recent warm weather.

Giant hogweed is best tackled early in the season, before it grows too tall and scary!
Roots can be severed with a sharp spade, unless the soil is very stony.

Alternatively, plants can be sprayed. Either way, it's advisable to treat hogweed before it becomes an unwelcoming jungle.

Clash of the Crayfish: Why the Americans Are Winning

Here is a link to a very interesting article highlighting reasearch that has been carried out by the University of Leeds on the affect of the invasive American Signal Crayfish on native White Clawed Crayfish in England and the freshwater ecosystems as a whole: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120315095519.htm

"Their study, published in the online journal PLoS One, compares how quickly the two different species deal with food. The American signal crayfish ate up to 83 per cent more food per day than did their native cousins. The research also

showed that white-clawed crayfish are much more choosy about what they eat, preferring particular types of prey, while the signals eat equal amounts of all prey. The white-clawed crayfish are also affected by a common parasite, porcelain disease, which affects their ability to catch prey, leading affected crayfish to eat 30% less. The American signal crayfish, on the other hand, seem unaffected by the parasite."

Here is the link to the published research paper: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0032229

The Economic Cost of Invasive-Non Native Species on GB

This is a report carried out by CABI (the same group who have been testing biological control agents for some invasive plants) on behalf of the UK government.

Not sure if this has been posted before but it certainly has some interesting figures which are worth quoting if you are ever having to justify INNS control work.

https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/nonnativespecies/downloadDocument.cfm?id=487

BREAKING NEWS!

KILLER SHRIMP FOUND IN THE BROADS!!

http://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/news/press-releases/2012/broads-water-users-urged-to-check-clean-dry.html

"Andrea Kelly Senior Ecologist for the Broads Authority said: ‘The shrimp were found through a dedicated monitoring programme. Fortunately we’ve only found the shrimp in a very localised area in the Broads so far. People checking, cleaning and drying their equipment after use is essential to help stop the spread of all non-native species and we would really appreciate their full cooperation in doing this."