British Gardens Home To New Insect Invaders

Wed, 14 Nov 2007

A new species of insect has made its way from the Atlantic islands of Madeira and the Canary Islands to the UK due to the increase in mainland temperatures .

The new species of Barkfly - the Barkfly Atlantopsocus adustus - has been discovered on stretches of the Cornish coast and scientists believe it could spread throughout the UK .

The fly is thought to have arrived either through the wind or via imported plants and experts believe it is now establishing itself in Britain (has been found at five National Trust sites) thanks to warmer temperatures .

Speaking to the BBC, the National Trust's nature conservation advisor Janet Lister, said: "These new discoveries demonstrate that non-native species, which are used to living in warmer climes, are now able to survive here as a result of global warming ."

There are currently 99 Barkfly species recorded in Britain and it is believed that the Atlantopsocus adustus species offers little threat to the original species .

Ms Lister added: "Even if the Barkfly Atlantopsocus adustus does become widespread, it is unlikely to have a detrimental impact on our native species because other UK Barkfly species are already using the same habitats."

The 5mm-long flies, as the name suggests, live on the bark of trees and shrubs and could soon be found in most gardens across the country.
add to favouritesnewsletterlink to this pagesend to friendpost comments

Link to this page

Copy and Paste the following HTML into your page.