Tag Archives: native species

Stowaways in potted plants

Posted on April 18, 2014 by argylesock

Potted plants can seem so benign. Beautiful, fascinating, good to grow and give, but they may carry invasive species which are not benign. Tom Bawden at The Independent tells us about invasive species reaching Europe, including the New Guinea flatworm … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, horticulture, money and trade | Tagged alien species, America, Argentine ant, arthropod, Asia, Asian hornet, beetle, biosecurity, coleopteran, Europe, flatworm, garden, harlequin ladybird, herbivore, hymenopteran, insect, invasive species, invertebrate, ladybird, landscape, lepidopteran, light brown apple moth, lily beetle, mollusc, moth, native species, New Guinea flatworm, New Zealand flatworm, oak processionary moth, pest, plant_dicot, plant_gymnosperm, plant_monocot, predator, rosemary leaf beetle, slug, snail, Spanish slug | 5 Comments

Poisoning rare birds

Posted on April 3, 2014 by argylesock

In one area of the Scottish Highlands, somebody has been poisoning buzzards (Buteo buteo) and red kites (Milvus milvus). Police are searching for the criminal.

Posted in ecology | Tagged bird, bird of prey, buzzard, Europe, law, native species, poison, predator, rare species, red kite, vertebrate | 14 Comments

Tyto alba

Posted on April 2, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on The Naturephile:
A few posts ago in ‘The Owl and the Woodpecker‘ I mentioned that a pair of robins may have started getting fruity in my garden as early as the begining of January. And then last…

Posted in ecology | Tagged barn owl, bird, bird of prey, birdwatching, breeding, bromadiolone, child, conservation, difenacoum, education, Europe, law, native species, nest, pesticide, poison, predator, rare species, vertebrate, wildlife | Leave a comment

Save Britain’s Barn Owls

Posted on March 31, 2014 by argylesock

Originally posted on Green Living London:
A petition has been launched to save Britain’s Barn Owls, which are dying off in their thousands. The changing climate and a loss in their natural habitat is part of the picture, but these iconic…

Posted in ecology | Tagged alien species, anticoagulant, barn owl, bird, bird of prey, bromadiolone, conservation, difenacoum, Europe, mammal, native species, pest, pesticide, poison, predator, rare species, rat, rodent, vertebrate, wildlife | Leave a comment

Exotic trees

Posted on December 9, 2013 by argylesock

Lewis at woodlands.co.uk tells us about the exotic (alien) trees which are familiar in our British landscapes. Lewis tells us how many of these trees arrived during colonial times when great houses and gardens were built. He doesn’t mention how … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology | Tagged alien species, arboriculture, disease, disease reservoir, ecosystem, forest, garden, hedge, history, human, invasive species, landscape, native species, naturalised species, plant_dicot, plant_gymnosperm, plant_monocot, sugar cane, tree, wood, woodland | Leave a comment

Getting rid of bovine tuberculosis?

Posted on November 30, 2013 by argylesock

A farmer in my family told me, ‘People want clean meat.’ Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an infectious disease of cattle (Bos primigenius) caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. Our UK Government wants rid of bTB, because then the European Union … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, money and trade | Tagged bacterium, badger, biosecurity, bovine tuberculosis, cattle, Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, disease, disease reservoir, disease testing, disease transmission, farmer, food safety, law, livestock, mammal, milk, Mycobacterium bovis, native species, notifiable disease, politics, ruminant, trade, tuberculosis, vertebrate, wildlife, zoonosis | 6 Comments

Has the red kite become a pest?

Posted on October 30, 2013 by argylesock

Here in Britain the red kite (Milvus milvus) was hunted almost to extinction. In the 16th century it was classed as vermin, supposedly a threat to agriculture. A few centuries later, along came gamekeepers whose job was (and still is) … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology | Tagged bird, bird of prey, child, conservation, earthworm, game, history, livestock, native species, pest, pet, poultry, predator, raptor, red kite, reintroduced species, rodent, shooting, vermin, vertebrate, wildlife | 13 Comments

The badger cull – what we know and what we don’t know

Posted on September 30, 2013 by argylesock

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an infectious disease of cattle (Bos primigenius) caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. You could follow my ‘tuberculosis’ tag. Other animals can get bTB too. In Britain, some people think the native badger (Meles meles) is … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology, knowledge transfer | Tagged alien species, bacterium, badger, biosecurity, brushtail possum, cattle, data, deer, disease, farmer, foot and mouth disease, fox, history, knowledge, livestock, mammal, marsupial, mouse, mustelid, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, native species, poison, polecat, politics, research, reservoir, rodent, ruminant, shooting, shrew, squirrel, stoat, tuberculosis, vertebrate, vole, wildlife | 2 Comments

Paving the Way For Invasive Species

Posted on September 29, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on Living With Insects Blog:
Horticulturalists help bring beauty to our gardens and landscapes by introducing plants from other parts of the world and breeding them for aesthetic characteristics. In the past, not enough attention was paid to…

Posted in ecology, horticulture | Tagged alder buckthorn, alien species, aphid, arthropod, brimstone butterfly, ecosystem, garden, hemipteran, insect, invasive species, landscape, lepidopteran, native species, pest, plant_dicot, shrub, soybean aphid, tiger moth | Leave a comment

Bovine TB in New Zealand compared to Britain and Ireland

Posted on September 28, 2013 by argylesock

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an infectious disease of cattle (Bos primigenius) caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. You could follow my ‘tuberculosis’ tag. This disease is zoonotic. That is, M. bovis can infect us as well as cattle. Not very … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology, knowledge transfer | Tagged alien species, bacterium, badger, bait, bovine tuberculosis, brushtail possum, disease, disease reservoir, finance, fur, history, human, livestock, mammal, marsupial, mustelid, Mycobacterium bovis, native species, oral vaccination, parental vaccination, pest, research, ruminant, tuberculosis, vaccine, vermin, vertebrate, veterinary, wildlife, zoonosis | 8 Comments