Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Robin Hood And His Merry Moths

Sherwood Forest, one of several purported homes of Robin of Loxley (Robin Hood), is currently under threat by not one, but two different introduced moth species. According to this report at BBC News, the oak processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionea) and the brown tail moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea), introductions from Europe, are now both established in England. Biologists are quite concerned about the potential impact on the ancient oaks of Sherwood Forest if the moths arrive there. There is an attempt underway to manage the brown tail moth populations in nearby locations using pheremone traps...not sure what they're doing about the processionary moths though.

Thanks to biosparite for sending in a link to this story.

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