July 2020 BBC Wildlife 27
WILDNEWS
IN NUMBERS
150
yearsaftertheywentlocally
extinct,largeheathbutterflies
arereturningtopeatlandsin
GreaterManchesterthankstoa
Wildlife Trustsreintroduction.
6
wildwhitestorkchickshave
hatchedintheUKforthefirst
timeincenturiesatKnepp
Estate,WestSussex,aspart
of abreedingproject.
87
beaverswereshotunder 16
licencesand 83 beaverdams
wereremovedunder 19 licences
in2019,accordingtoa Scottish
Natural Heritage report.
NEW SPECIESDISCOVERY
FINDOUTMORE
Zoosystematicsand Evolution
bit.ly/3gKAmfq
WHATISIT?Thisstrikingnew
speciesofvenomouspitviper(a
groupthatgetsitsnamefromthe
heat-sensitivepitslocatedbetween
theeyesandthenostrils)canbe
distinguishedfromitsrelativesby
thered-orangestripesthatrunthe
full length of the body in males.
WHEREISIT?Threespecimensof
Tr i m e r e s u r u ss a l a z a rwerespotted
coiledupamongstroadsideshrubbery
duringanexpeditiontoArunachal
Pradesh,northeastIndia.Thespecies
hasbeennamedafterSalazarSlytherin,
fictionalco-founderofHogwartsSchool
ofWitchcraftandWizardryandspeaker
of the language of serpents. SB
Salazar’s
pit viper
Spider: MD Kern/Palo Alto JR Museum/NPL(captive); viper: Aamod Zambre & Chintan Seth/Eaglenest Biodiversity Project/Creative Commons
T
hewell-publiciseddeclineininsect
populationsis havingknock-on
effectsupthefoodchain,accordingto
new research showing a startling drop
inoneofEurope’smostwidespread
andfamiliarspidersoverthelastfour
decades.Theresearch,conductedin
Switzerland,foundthatthegardencross
spider– theclassicorbwebspinner– was
about 140 timesmoreabundantinthe
1970sand’80sthanit is now.
Themostextensiveandup-to-date
estimateforthedeclineinterrestrial
insectsworldwidesuggeststhattheyare
disappearingata rateofnearlyoneper
centperyear,or24 per cent over the
last 30 years.
“Thismusthaveconsequencesfor
spiders,birds,bats,et cetera,sinceflying
insectsarethemajordietformanyof
thesecreatures,”saysMartinNyffeler
oftheUniversityofBasel,wholedthe
spiderwork.“Dueto thefactthatthe
numberofinsectsfoundinspiderwebs
is muchlowernowadayscomparedwith
40 yearsago,I amveryconfidentthat
insectdeclineis theproblem.”
Nyffelersaysthatsimilarsurveysare
nowneededinotherpartsofEurope,
includingtheUK,andonotherspeciesof
spider,to testwhetherthisis more than a
local effect.Stuart Blackman
FINDOUTMORE
Insectsbit.ly/3cmhS1n
Atangledweb
ofinvertebrate
declines
INSECTS
A characterinJ K
Rowling’sHarry
Potterbookseries
inspiredthename
of this new species.
Asinsectpreydisappears,
theonceabundantgarden
crossspiderhassu ereda
dramatic population decline.