Colombian tree frog found by Sheffield florist highlights invasive species threat
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Scientists say frog’s journey shows difficulty of spotting insects or fungi spread by global plant trade. A tiny tree frog hitchhiking in a bunch of roses to Sheffield from Colombia has inspired a study into invasive species reaching the UK’s shores.
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Dr Silviu Petrovan, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s zoology department and a senior author of a paper published today in the journal BioScience, had his interest piqued when he was asked to identify a live frog found in roses in a florist’s shop in Sheffield.
He initially thought it was some kind of prank, as the frog was exotic: not a European species. Eventually, to his amazement, he realised it must have perched among the flowers all the way from Colombia via Ecuador. “Finding a South American tree frog in a Sheffield florist was extraordinary. It made me realise that if you can get this type of fragile, small vertebrate arriving alive in a flower shipment without being noticed at customs, just how hard it must be to detect very small agricultural insect pests or their eggs,” said Petrovan.
The UK is very vulnerable to pests and diseases arriving through the horticulture trade, particularly as climate breakdown brings warmer and more humid temperatures enjoyed by insects and diseases. Scientists believe it is only a matter of time before the devastating pest Xylella fastidiosa, which has decimated olive groves across Europe, arrives in a pot of lavender or rosemary. Invasive pests and diseases such as ash dieback and the Asian hornet have already arrived in the UK, causing huge problems for native wildlife.
