Spittlebug Survey - Story on BBC website
As if Caronavirus wasn't enough on the disease front it would seem we need to be prepared for problems that the Spittlebug might bring to our shores. Xyllela is a disease that has caused significant damage to olive trees across Italy and Spain. DEFRA has now placed restrictions on the importation of Olive trees and other susceptable plants including Lavendar and Rosemary.
To get the full story from the BBC website go to https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52360081.
There are links in that page to information about Spittlebugs https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48383730 and
a survey being undertaken by the University of Sussex at https://www.spittlebugsurvey.co.uk/
The idea seems to be to build up a map of how the Spittlebug is distributed across the UK .
This is NOT about killing Spittlebugs as Dr Robinson made clear ..........
"So, ultimately, if the worst possible happens, and the disease does arrive in Britain, we'll be able to make some really good predictions about how it's likely to spread and how quickly."
The spittlebugs are not pests in themselves and do not damage plants, said Dr Robinson.
"We don't want you to go round squishing the spittlebugs, but we do want to understand where they're living," she added.