New Species of Barkfly recorded in Britain for the First Time

02/06/2006 00:00:00 Arrival of Barkfly on National Trust land in Cornwall linked to climate change

Surveys undertaken on National Trust land in Cornwall have found that a species of insect from islands off the west coast of African has made it to Britain for the first time.

The Barkfly, known as Atlantopsocus adustus and has no English name, was, until recently, only known from Madeira and the Canary Islands; with a possible sighting in Ireland. It lives on the bark of trees and shrubs where it eats lichens and algae. This discovery was made by ecologist Keith Alexander at Lansallos, which is owned by the National Trust on the south Cornish coast. The Barkfly has also been found during wildlife survey work at four other National Trust coastal sites including Bosigran, Godrevy, Chapel Porth (all on the north coast) and Treluggan (on the south coast).

Widespread on Cornish coast
Findings from the surveys have shown that the Barkfly appears to be widespread on these stretches of coast. Experts believe that this is the first wave of colonization which is strongly linked to the changing nature of our climate and the milder weather means that the Barkfly is more likely to survive.

Ninety-nine species of Barkfly have so far been recorded in Britain and it’s likely that most trees will be home to these tiny insects, which normally measure around 5mm’s. The National Barkfly Recording Scheme has had a significant impact in helping with better identification of Barkflies and in the last eight years six new species to Britain have been discovered.

Janet Lister, the National Trust’s Nature Conservation Advisor for Devon and Cornwall explains: ‘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. 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 two possible scenarios for how the Barkfly reached Britain. They could have arrived on plants imported from Madeira or the Canary Islands by collectors or they might have been blown into the Britain on southerly winds from the Atlantic.