A Hertfordshire wildlife survey has recorded the reed-associated planthopper Eudes basilinaa in Fir and Pond Woods near Potter’s Bar. The species had never previously been documented in Hertfordshire.
At Aldbury Nowes, near Tring, surveyors recorded the leafhopper Zygina hyperici in Hertfordshire for the first time since 1916, highlighting the importance of the area for rare and returning wildlife.
The survey also found Arboridia parvula, a Rockrose-associated leafhopper recorded in the county for the first time since 1976. Researchers additionally discovered Agineta mollis, a small money spider considered rare across the UK.
The Jersey tiger moth, traditionally associated with the Channel Islands, is now being recorded increasingly further north. Hummingbird hawk-moths are also being seen regularly across Hertfordshire.
“These discoveries improve our understanding of which species are present in Hertfordshire, where they live and how they are responding to environmental change,” Townsend said.
“That information is vital for conservation area managers and helps create the conditions wildlife needs to thrive.”
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Source: www.bbc.co.uk