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non native animals in the uk: |
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Morpheus Senior Member Joined: 30 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 54  View other posts by Morpheus |
Posted: 07 May 2006 I`ve heard about loads of foreign spieces in the uk but can someone confirm that they are definatly established or wild in england?and if they are can they provide a picture please? Heres the list: .stick insects .turtles or tortoises .alpine newt .praying mantis .venamous funnel web spiders .rhynosourus beetle .fire-bellied toads Its all getting confusing! 
also can people tell me of other imported animals Gloucestershire`s first exotic pet show! http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/general-herp-chat/320967-glou cestershire-reptile-show-2010-a.html |
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Caleb Forum Coordinator Joined: 17 Feb 2003 No. of posts: 448  View other posts by Caleb |
Posted: 08 May 2006 http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/identification.htm#naturalised http://www.darkwave.org.uk/~caleb/ukintro.html http://www.buglife.org.uk/html/insect_types/about_inverts_in sect_types_PHASMIDA.htm |
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GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090  View other posts by GemmaJF |
Posted: 08 May 2006 Hi Morpheus, Alpine newts are definetely established, i.e. they breed in the UK Red eared terrapins and sliders crop up in the wild regularly, no confirmed reports of successful breeding in natural conditions though. So they are probably pets that have been released. I've removed firebelied toads from garden ponds.. I think it is possible for them to breed in the wild in the UK, but have never seen direct evidence such as tadpoles or toadlets myself. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant |
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-LAF Senior Member Joined: 03 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 317 View other posts by -LAF |
Posted: 08 May 2006 The venomous funnel web is most likely to be the tube web spider, Segestria florentina (just use google images search, there'll be loads of pics). It is indeed symptomatically venomous to people and bites are said to be quite unpleasently painful. It's localised in the south of the country, mainly around ports, but it is spreading. Very cool critter. Please let us know if you hear aything more about the Mantises. I only have one source for that claim, which was in the British Mens Magazine 'ICE'. So I'm not 100% convinced yet, but it would be cool so I'm keeping my fingers crossed  Lee. Lee Fairclough |
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Morpheus Senior Member Joined: 30 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 54 View other posts by Morpheus |
Posted: 08 May 2006 thanks for replying all the information has been useful, i`ve been dying to know for ages  also i`ll try to get a picture of that spider and if it illegal to release forighn spieces into the wild would it be illegal to catch one?Gloucestershire`s first exotic pet show! http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/general-herp-chat/320967-glou cestershire-reptile-show-2010-a.html |
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-LAF Senior Member Joined: 03 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 317 View other posts by -LAF |
Posted: 08 May 2006 It's an area that really fascinates me this one! The British Rhioceros Beetle, Sinodendron cylindricum, is actually a native animal and is locally common throughout much of the country. That said, I've only encountered two, one of which was a big male that intorduced hmself by flying into me and landing on my t-shirt. Nothing like as impressive as the tropical beetles of the same name but cool critters none-the-less. Apart from one slightly larger European species, I very much doubt any of the more impressive rhino beetles would like our climate or our range of food plants. A few more curiosoties for your list: Yellow tailed scorpion, Euscorpion flavicaudis, at Sheerness since at least 1860s, and still hanging on in the south east. Harmless. House centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata, Another European species that occurs in limited numbers in the south. Notable as it can give a nip like a bee sting. And becuase it looks heinous. European Ant Lion, Euroleon nostras, one of several European species but the only one known in the UK. Presumed not native as it's pretty much exclusive to a single site at RSPB Minsmere in Sufflok. However, two adults found along the Kentish coast in recent summers have raised questions. The adults are a bit dull though, it's the Diabolical Larvae that make these so groovy... Some great video clips here. Amazonian Fresh Water Jellyfish, Craspedactusa sowerbii, Although about as far removed from the Amazon basin as you can get, A Doncaster sewage works was the most recent place to find itself playing host to a colony of these adaptable little critters. Originally thought to have arrived in the country at Kew gardens in the 19th century, along with a shipment of giant amazonian water lillies, they have now been found in lakes and canals in many part of the country. It's always interesting to see how well new species do in our country. For example, it's hard to believe but in 1955 the first pair of collared doves bred at a secret site in Norfolk, and were closely guarded by ornithologists...  Lee. Lee Fairclough |
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herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369  View other posts by herpetologic2 |
Posted: 08 May 2006 Morpheus technically once captured you cannot release it back into the wild - if it is listed under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 Section 14 - You would require a license from DEFRA to release non native animals (under section 14 WCA 1981) back into the wild - legally - and only into areas where they were captured from - So best not to catch them and try and get in situ photos...... Jon Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
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Morpheus Senior Member Joined: 30 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 54 View other posts by Morpheus |
Posted: 09 May 2006 thx all im surprised we had ant lions in this country tough i have found something that has looked identical to the larvae but it was on a leaf not on the ground so i thought it was a lacewing as in they look similer to ant lions, and i searched in yahoo images a house centipede and i am not ever going to go around in my house in the dark ever again!how big are they any way? Fogot to mention on my list do we have cicadas as in this book i read that we have one in europe but didnt say were Gloucestershire`s first exotic pet show! http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/general-herp-chat/320967-glou cestershire-reptile-show-2010-a.html |
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Wolfgang Wuster Senior Member Joined: 23 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 326 View other posts by Wolfgang Wuster |
Posted: 09 May 2006 Let's not forget the Aesculapian snake (Zamenis longissiums, formerly Elaphe longissima) in N. Wales - definitely established and breeding regularly. Cheers, WW Wolfgang Wüster School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor http://sbsweb.bangor.ac.uk/~bss166/ |
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arvensis Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 445 View other posts by arvensis |
Posted: 22 May 2006 You can add Harlequin Ladybirds to that list - they are not good news for 'our' ladybirds. Mark Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group. |
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will j Member Joined: 06 Aug 2005 No. of posts: 18 View other posts by will j |
Posted: 25 May 2006 triturus carnifex, italian crested newt has been introduced into several sites, not good news for native caudates, especially great crested newts. introduced birds include: ring necked pheasant, golden pheasant, lady amhurst pheasant, red legged partridge, ruddy duck, little owl, ring necked parakeet, mandarin duck, egyptian goose. plus reintroduced birds such as: gadwall, goshawk, red kite, white tailed sea-eagle, capercaille etc Birder from Shropshire, adrift in Cornwall! |
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Ray999 Senior Member Joined: 07 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 101  View other posts by Ray999 |
Posted: 04 Jun 2006 Hi I am going to tell you about something I did last summer (sounds like a film title) which will probably alarm some of you,and after becoming a regular reader of this site I probably wouldn't do it a second time. I live on the North west Coast of England about 100 yards from the sea which can be pretty windswept at times, however all the back gardens face each other in what can be best described as a very small valley creating a bit of a suntrap.At the bottom of my garden I have a 20 foot long wall covered in trellis with well established evergreen Honeysuckle growing on it.The wall is south facing and in the summer has the sun on it from about 9.00am to 19.00pm I have always felt a bit sorry for myself thinking (until recently) that I lived an area where none of our native Herps were present. I have never liked keeping animals in captivity but I do keep Green Anoles in a large viv (2mtre x 1mtre x1mtre) in my basement the wife woun't have it anywhere else(wish I could do a swap). I had often wondered how they might cope living in our climate especially with global warming becoming a reality,(I have noticed a change in the weather over the last 10 years),so on Fathers day of last year I released 2 males and 2 females onto the back wall. It was a baptism of fire for them,that night it absolutely poured down and I didn't expect to see them ever again,but having said that they would experience much worse in their native Florida in the hurricane season and sure enough by lunch time of the next day all 4 were there sunning themselves on the trellis. They stayed there all summer, they could have up and left and gone anywhere but the position obviously suited them.During this time I saw them behaving as you would expect in their natural habitat,hunting for food,displaying,fighting,mating and sunning themselves.This they did for most of the day unlike our native species maybe, it wasn't quite warm enough for them but taking temp readings on the material they were basking on the readings were above 30degs most of the time.I did look but I never found any eggs. We have a cat but I keep her well fed and she wears a bell at all times but there are at least 8 other cats in the gardens around mine and they do visit on occasions but they never seemed interested in what was on the wall above them.Maisie (our cat) would sit and watch with amusement but I never saw her make any attempt to catch any of them,maybe because of where they were,a vertical wall with dense vegitation on it. It's a great feeling sitting on your patio at 7.30am drinking a cup of coffee before going to work and watching a lizard 2 feet away drinking the dew off a leaf. Up until the 14/10/05 I saw all 4, by the 23/10/05 I had caught 3 and put them back in their viv I never found the last female, it was getting cold by then and she may have gone too deep into the vegetation for me to find her.The only way I could catch them was to find where they were sleeping the night before then go out early the next morning and take them before they warmed up. They would usually sleep in the same place each night but this was governed by where the sun was shining at the end of the day, once the temp was above 10 degs they were too fast for me. When I caught them they were the healthiest I had ever seen them,a beautiful shape and their colours were so vivid, they are still alive today. They were left to fend for themselves mainly,I would sometimes release some crickets on the wall which the house sparrows soon took advantage of but apart from that they fed themselves. I saw them taking flies, catapilars, crickets and spiders, there were also slugs, snails, hoverflies,and woodlice about but I never saw them take any of them.If I hadn't seen them for a while the easiest way to bring them into view was to spray the Honeysuckle with water, they were soon out having a drink. It was such a good feeling knowing they were surviving and in fact thriving in my garden and I used to spend hours watching them. The warmer months of our climate our obviously suitable for a lot of other reptiles but the winter months arn't so accomodating.On Christmas eve I found the last female in the middle of the patio,quite healthy looking, quite plump but dead.Why she was in the middle of the Patio I don't know, none of them had left the wall during the summer, I only saw one drop to the floor to catch a cricket but he was soon up the wall again.Maybe she was trying to make her way in from the cold on her own but it did answer my last question could they survive a English winter?......NO. Cheers, Ray ray999 |
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Morpheus Senior Member Joined: 30 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 54 View other posts by Morpheus |
Posted: 05 Jun 2006 I wouldnt think anything imported would survive our winter but they probably would just make it untill spring,foriegn snakes and amphibeans have survived so i think they would but i would bring them in in the winter to be on the safe side, also they might get deseases that our reptiles are use to but the anoles arnt Gloucestershire`s first exotic pet show! http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/general-herp-chat/320967-glou cestershire-reptile-show-2010-a.html |
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Ray999 Senior Member Joined: 07 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 101 View other posts by Ray999 |
Posted: 05 Jun 2006
Found some pics sorry about the quality ray999 |
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Morpheus Senior Member Joined: 30 Apr 2006 No. of posts: 54 View other posts by Morpheus |
Posted: 07 Jul 2006 have to admit they do look happy there but just dont forget how are crappy weather can be with frost evry where numerous downpores and freezing cold winds so as i said earlier bring them in the winter. I use to let my indian stick insect out on my little twig of a bramble bush but i brought here in when she started laying eggs. now evryday i come home to see tiny newly hatched stick insects Gloucestershire`s first exotic pet show! http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/general-herp-chat/320967-glou cestershire-reptile-show-2010-a.html |
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arvensis Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 445 View other posts by arvensis |
Posted: 07 Jul 2006 I think they preserved a wall/building at Sheerness Docks for the Scorpions. There also used to be a colony of the same species at Ongar station- i don't know if they're still there. Here's a couple of piccies of some non-natives on the walls...   Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group. |
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Vicar Senior Member Joined: 02 Sep 2004 No. of posts: 1181 View other posts by Vicar |
Posted: 07 Jul 2006 Mark, Are those Pms from the Boscombe colony ? Steve Langham - Chairman 
Surrey Amphibian & Reptile Group (SARG). |
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herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts by herpetologic2 |
Posted: 07 Jul 2006
Nah - those are Ventnor Walls surely
Jon Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
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arvensis Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 445 View other posts by arvensis |
Posted: 07 Jul 2006 They're from Boscombe, I went down there on Tuesday afternoon/evening. Arrived just after 4pm, the first thing I saw was a Lv. Saw another further down the path but not many Pm to start with, just a couple of very skittish ones. As it started to cool down after 6, more were easily visible - in the end I lost count of how many sightings I made - a guess would be at least 30 sightings. Mark Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group. |
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herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369 View other posts by herpetologic2 |
Posted: 07 Jul 2006
Try and get a count of animals and the distance travelled - I think that this would be good to collate to help assess the status of the wall lizard in England Jon Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
- non native animals in the uk |
Hi 