by AlistairMurdoch » Wed May 14, 2014 10:19 pm
Hi Nick,
the map provided by NBN on UK Moths shows a single site for Lime HM in Scotland (near the Clyde), but going onto the actual NBN site, this record is not shown. Perhaps some strange record protocol at work. Eglinton certainly has some convincing lime trees, with two avenues maybe planted in the 80's, but nothing more recent that I am aware of. Unfortunately neither Eric or myself work at Eglinton now so it could be a while till another one is recorded.
On the topic of explanations for species turning up well off the usual distribution, I remember when I went through a phase of sea shell collecting at Barassie and Troon, I got two species of shell which were from the other side of the globe. I envisaged some ship carrying these individuals stuck to the hull and transported halfway across the planet only to drop of in the Firth of Clyde and wash up at Barassie. However I abandoned this theory when I discovered that fancy seashell collections commonly available in home décor shops had both these species. More likely somebody had a nice basket of attractive shells in their bathroom which their kid flushed down the toilet from time to time and got washed up via the sewage system. Seems feasible anyway.
Alistair.
