ianstone
06-11-2010, 11:28 AM
Britain's conker trees under threat - not from elf'n'safety but from alien moth
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 12:35 PM on 11th June 2010
Comments (11) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1285827/Britains-urged-save-nations-conker-trees-alien-moth.html#comments)
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1285827/Britains-urged-save-nations-conker-trees-alien-moth.html)
British experts have sounded a rallying cry in the battle to save the nation's conker trees - and this time it's not from health and safety officials.
Academics have warned that conkers - a favourite playground game in British schools - could soon be a fond memory due to an alien moth.
They are asking for the public's help in keeping an eye on the country's horse chesnut trees, which are gradually being destroyed by an alien moth.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/11/article-1285827-09FD97E0000005DC-599_468x286.jpg The leaf miner moth attacks the leaves of conker trees and is spreading 40 miles a year
The horse chestnut leaf miner is an 'alien' (non-native) moth which arrived in the UK in 2002.
Since then it has spread at a rate of up to 40 miles per year and now covers half of the country, including much of south-central England, East Anglia, the Midlands and most recently East Yorkshire and Cornwall.
The alien moth has caterpillars that live inside the leaves, forming distinctive patches of damage called 'leaf mines'.
Up to 700 leaf mines have been recorded on a single leaf and the damage caused by large numbers of larvae can be striking. Severely damaged leaves shrivel and turn brown by mid summer and fall early, well before the autumn, giving the impression that the tree is dead.
Although the moths do not kill the trees directly it appears that they weaken the trees, which then produce smaller conkers and may become more susceptible to lethal diseases.
The spread and establishment of the horse chestnut leaf miner is of particular concern because, once established, the moth maintains exceptionally high rates of infestation without any evidence of decline.
No one knows exactly how far the miner infestation has spread so Dr Darren Evans from Hull University and Dr Michael Pocock from Bristol University are inviting the public to monitor the rate of spread of this 'alien' insect.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/11/article-1285827-09FD9717000005DC-62_468x286.jpg The horse chestnut leaf miner moth first appeared in the UK in 2002
Dr Michael Pocock said: 'The whitish blotches on horse chestnut leaves that appear during the early summer are an indication that the 'alien' moths have arrived in their area.
'People can then log the location of the tree, either with or without the indication of alien moths, into our website.
'The moth is spreading year-by-year and so this will give us the most up-to- date picture of the spread of this moth.'
Verified records will then be passed to Forest Research to add to its national database, which has been recording the spread of the moth since its arrival in 2002.
The second part of the experiment will start in July when the public will be asked to record whether nature's pest controller has arrived.
Dr Darren Evans from the University of Hull added: "Nature's form of defence against this alien invader is a tiny parasitic wasp which eats the moth caterpillars from the inside out - the wasps are the natural pest controllers.
'We think there is a time lag between the moth infesting a tree and the wasps attacking the caterpillars. We need the public's help to test whether this is the case especially in areas that have recently been invaded.
'We want them to collect a single infected horse chestnut leaf and put it into the bag.
Within two weeks either moths or tiny parasitic wasps or possibly both should emerge.'
To find out more visit the website www.ourweboflife.org.uk (http://www.ourweboflife.org.uk/)
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1285827/Britains-urged-save-nations-conker-trees-alien-moth.html#ixzz0qYg4jJ00
I'm well old, but I remember hours of fun to and from school as well as in the playground. Nothing appears sacred any more
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 12:35 PM on 11th June 2010
Comments (11) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1285827/Britains-urged-save-nations-conker-trees-alien-moth.html#comments)
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1285827/Britains-urged-save-nations-conker-trees-alien-moth.html)
British experts have sounded a rallying cry in the battle to save the nation's conker trees - and this time it's not from health and safety officials.
Academics have warned that conkers - a favourite playground game in British schools - could soon be a fond memory due to an alien moth.
They are asking for the public's help in keeping an eye on the country's horse chesnut trees, which are gradually being destroyed by an alien moth.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/11/article-1285827-09FD97E0000005DC-599_468x286.jpg The leaf miner moth attacks the leaves of conker trees and is spreading 40 miles a year
The horse chestnut leaf miner is an 'alien' (non-native) moth which arrived in the UK in 2002.
Since then it has spread at a rate of up to 40 miles per year and now covers half of the country, including much of south-central England, East Anglia, the Midlands and most recently East Yorkshire and Cornwall.
The alien moth has caterpillars that live inside the leaves, forming distinctive patches of damage called 'leaf mines'.
Up to 700 leaf mines have been recorded on a single leaf and the damage caused by large numbers of larvae can be striking. Severely damaged leaves shrivel and turn brown by mid summer and fall early, well before the autumn, giving the impression that the tree is dead.
Although the moths do not kill the trees directly it appears that they weaken the trees, which then produce smaller conkers and may become more susceptible to lethal diseases.
The spread and establishment of the horse chestnut leaf miner is of particular concern because, once established, the moth maintains exceptionally high rates of infestation without any evidence of decline.
No one knows exactly how far the miner infestation has spread so Dr Darren Evans from Hull University and Dr Michael Pocock from Bristol University are inviting the public to monitor the rate of spread of this 'alien' insect.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/11/article-1285827-09FD9717000005DC-62_468x286.jpg The horse chestnut leaf miner moth first appeared in the UK in 2002
Dr Michael Pocock said: 'The whitish blotches on horse chestnut leaves that appear during the early summer are an indication that the 'alien' moths have arrived in their area.
'People can then log the location of the tree, either with or without the indication of alien moths, into our website.
'The moth is spreading year-by-year and so this will give us the most up-to- date picture of the spread of this moth.'
Verified records will then be passed to Forest Research to add to its national database, which has been recording the spread of the moth since its arrival in 2002.
The second part of the experiment will start in July when the public will be asked to record whether nature's pest controller has arrived.
Dr Darren Evans from the University of Hull added: "Nature's form of defence against this alien invader is a tiny parasitic wasp which eats the moth caterpillars from the inside out - the wasps are the natural pest controllers.
'We think there is a time lag between the moth infesting a tree and the wasps attacking the caterpillars. We need the public's help to test whether this is the case especially in areas that have recently been invaded.
'We want them to collect a single infected horse chestnut leaf and put it into the bag.
Within two weeks either moths or tiny parasitic wasps or possibly both should emerge.'
To find out more visit the website www.ourweboflife.org.uk (http://www.ourweboflife.org.uk/)
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1285827/Britains-urged-save-nations-conker-trees-alien-moth.html#ixzz0qYg4jJ00
I'm well old, but I remember hours of fun to and from school as well as in the playground. Nothing appears sacred any more