BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

28 BBC Wildlife July 2020

WILDNEWS

Scrub jay: Chuck Graham; hornet: Alastair Macewen/Getty

THISMAYmainstreammediahypedthe

prospectoftheworld’slargesthornet

spreadingfromitsnativeeastandsouth-

eastAsia.Givenit isnearly4cmlong,the

Asiangianthornet,Vespamandarinia,

carriesa lotofvenom.Itsfearsomesting

canbefatalinhumans,thoughcasesare

too rare to justify the “murder” tag.

ProfessorHelenRoyoftheCentre

forEcology& Hydrology,whichleads

monitoringofnon-nativespeciesinBritain,

saysthebrouhahaarosefromjusttwo

confirmedsightingsoftheinsects,in

CanadaandtheUSA,oneofwhichwas

alreadydead.“Vespamandarinia hasn’t

reachedEurope,”shesays.

Confusingly,a second,smallerthough

stilllargespecies,knownsimplyasthe

Asianhornet,V.ve lu tin a, isfastmoving

west.“ItspreadrapidlythroughFrance

andispresentintheChannelIslands,”

saysProfessorRoy,“andtherehavebeen

reportsofnestsinmainlandBritainsince

2016.”SincetheUK“wouldbesuitable”

fortheseinvaders,it isonlythankstothe

“inspiringvigilance”ofthepublicsharing

suspectedsightingsthattheyhavenot

gaineda toeholdhere.BenHoare

“Murder

hornets” are

athreatto

Britain

WANTTO

COMMENT?Email

wildlifeletters@

immediate.co.uk

ThesehugeAsian

waspsdokill,but

readbetweenthe

linesofsensational

media reports.

Vespamandarinia

is knowntoattack

honeybee colonies.

REPORTSIGHTINGS Usethe

freeAsianHornetWatchapp,or email

[email protected]

I

slandscrubjaysonSantaCruzin

California’sChannelIslandsNational

Parkarerestoringoakwoodlands.

Researchershavetakennoticeandare

implementingthejays’strategyona

neighbouringisland.

“Islandscrubjaysareecosystem

engineers,”saysScottMorrison,director

ofconservationscienceatTheNature

Conservancy.“They’vehada handin

theprettyphenomenalrecoveryof

vegetationonSantaCruz.”

Eachadultjaycachesbetween3,500

and6,000acornsperyear,efficiently

distributingthefruitsacrossthe

mountainousisle,innatelystoringthem

withtheirpointsdowntogenerate

growth.Followingtheremovalof

livestockfromSantaCruzdueto

overgrazing,thejays’scatterhoarding

hashelpedreestablishoakgroves,which

supportmanyotherendemicspecies.

Restoringthehabitathasalsoenabled

SantaCruztocapturemorefogdrip:

whentheacornsareplantedupslope,

the oak trees catch moisture, which

ENVIRONMENT

Jaysinuence

restorationof

Californian island

Islandscrubjayshave

thesmallestrangeof

anybirdspeciesin

North America.

FINDOUTMORE

Island scrubjay:bit.ly/2U88HLJ

TRUTH OR FICTION

?

drainsintothetopsoilandcreeks,providing

animportantwatersourcefortheisland’s

floraandfauna.

OnnearbySantaRosawheretheisland

scrubjaywentextinctinthelate1880s,

volunteersaretryingtoreplicatethebirds’

behaviourbyplanting young oaks to

reinstate habitat.

Thereis talkofreintroducingthe

islandscrubjaytoSantaRosa.However,

therearefactorstoconsider,including

theimpactit couldhaveontheisland

loggerhead shrike.Chuck Graham