Arachnologist Meeting in Perth- SAM 2012

Details
Written by Gus Jones
Category: Insects
Published: 18 June 2012
Arachnologist Meeting in Perth- SAM 2012
The first meeting of Arachnologists in Scotland for many years is taking place in Perth Museum on August 25th.  SAM 2012 ,  the Scottish Arachnologists’ Meeting,  is free and open to all. It provides a great opportunity for anyone interested in harvestmen, pseudoscorpions and spiders t to learn from others. It is hoped it will encourage more people to get more involved with arachnid survey and ecological studies of these important predators   in Scotland.
From house spiders and garden arachnids  to harvestmen of the Falkland Islands there is a varied programme of talks with an optional field day .
From small mesh weaver to the extraordinary gallows or wood ant spider and a number of  lively jumping spiders Badenoch & Strathspey & the Cairngorms area  harbours a fascinating range of arachnids including some scarce and threatened species that have been overlooked on sites threatened by development.  BSCG has for example documented the wood ant eating or gallows spider  Dipoena torva on three sites proposed for new housing development.
Reflecting improved knowledge BSCG anticipates there will be further  species  of arachnid highlighted  as conservation priorities  in the forthcoming second Cairngorms Local Biodiversity Action Plan .
Information on SAM 2012 is being provided on the British Arachnological Society website. BSCG can also supply booking forms  for the meeting.
END
CAPTIONS
A male money  spider (Dismodicus)  found recently in Juniper on a threatened site in Strathspey.  The prominent head extension appears to accommodate secretory pits   and may be associated with mating but we know of no detailed study of the function of such  structures in spiders.
Spiders are important predators here a spider on a threatened site in Strathspey with a  leaf hopper. In turn spiders provide food for birds and some birds exploit spider silk when constructing their nests as  recently described on Springwatch  that has been following the fortunes of the nest of a goldcrest through summer gales.
An arachnologist using suction to sample spiders in Scots pine  woodland in Strathspey that is a habitat supporting many kinds of  arachnids.

The first meeting of Arachnologists in Scotland for many years is taking place in Perth Museum on August 25th.  SAM 2012 ,  the Scottish Arachnologists’ Meeting,  is free and open to all. It provides a great opportunity for anyone interested in harvestmen, pseudoscorpions and spiders t to learn from others. It is hoped it will encourage more people to get more involved with arachnid survey and ecological studies of these important predators   in Scotland. 

From house spiders and garden arachnids  to harvestmen of the Falkland Islands there is a varied programme of talks with an optional field day. 

From small mesh weaver to the extraordinary gallows or wood ant spider and a number of  lively jumping spiders Badenoch & Strathspey & the Cairngorms area  harbours a fascinating range of arachnids including some scarce and threatened species that have been overlooked on sites threatened by development.  BSCG has for example documented the wood ant eating or gallows spider  Dipoena torva on three sites proposed for new housing development.

Reflecting improved knowledge BSCG anticipates there will be further  species  of arachnid highlighted  as conservation priorities  in the forthcoming second Cairngorms Local Biodiversity Action Plan.

Information on SAM 2012 is being provided on the British Arachnological Society website. BSCG can also supply booking forms  for the meeting.

10-6-800

A male money  spider (Dismodicus)  found recently in Juniper on a threatened site in Strathspey.  The prominent head extension appears to accommodate secretory pits   and may be associated with mating but we know of no detailed study of the function of such  structures in spiders.

14-6-600

Spiders are important predators here a spider on a threatened site in Strathspey with a  leaf hopper. In turn spiders provide food for birds and some birds exploit spider silk when constructing their nests as  recently described on Springwatch  that has been following the fortunes of the nest of a goldcrest through summer gales.

1-11-11-SW-IMG_0831

An arachnologist using suction to sample spiders in Scots pine  woodland in Strathspey that is a habitat supporting many kinds of  arachnids.

19-6-800

 Gallows spider with wood ant prey at a  threatened site in Strathspey one of several where BSCG has found this spider that is on the Scottish Biodiversity List.

Ladybirds of Badenoch and Strathspey Leaflet

Details
Written by Tim Ransom
Category: Leaflets
Published: 28 May 2012

ladybirds-of-badenoch-and-strathspey

Our leaflet on Ladybirds of Badenoch and Strathspey.

Breach of Trust by the CNPA Letter

Details
Written by Administrator
Category: Debates
Published: 27 May 2012
The following letter  draws attention to a  clear breach of trust by the CNPA
it was published in the Strathy on 24 May 2012

The following letter  draws attention to a  clear breach of trust by the CNPA. It was published in the Strathy on 24 May 2012.

Pointless-consultation-letter-Strathy-24052012-400

CNPA Consultation document:

cover-Consultation-IMG_1025-400 p53IMG_1023-800

Letter: Poor Planning Threatens Northern Damselfly

Details
Written by Administrator
Category: Debates
Published: 11 May 2012

Letter published in the Badenoch and Strathspey Herald 10 May 2012:

Sir,
Recently the Cairngorms National Park Authority were unanimously minded to approve a major development for a large retail outlet in Aviemore for which there is no reference in their local plan or any detailed associated 'Appropriate Assessment' or strategic assessment of environmental impacts, despite its proximity to a European Conservation Site. The proposal the CNPA supported conflicts with their own Policy 5 on Biodiversity and with the founding National Park legislation that gives legal primacy to the 1st aim of the Park where there is conflict with other aims. Further, the planning conditions do not follow best practice and, in terms of Scottish law, the CNPA have apparently breached their legal Biodiversity Duty.

Despite all this, and not to mention significant unaddressed concerns raised by Architecture + Design Scotland, senior CNPA board member, David Green, is quick to confidently conclude that the CNPA has achieved a "sustainable outcome as befits a National Park" (Strathy 'Park Talk' May 2).

northern-damselfly

Northern damselfly - Coenagrion hastulatum coenagrionidae

One of the environmental impacts of the Tesco superstore is the complete destruction of the former Santa Claus land lochan that for over a century has been known as a breeding site for one of our rarest damselfies, the Northern damselfly. This beautiful insect is restricted in the UK to only some 35 sites since it appears to require very specific conditions. It has its stronghold in the Cairngorms and is classed as 'endangered' in the UK because it faces a 'very high risk of extinction in the near future'. Unsurprisingly, it is one of the species that Scottish Ministers have listed as of principal importance for conservation in Scotland and, being on the Scottish Biodiversity List, is a treasure for which the CNPA has national legal responsibilities. In addition, this pool has been assessed as of the highest conservation value and supports a wealth of other wildlife, including rarities.

The CNPA have proposed translocating the damselfly and other wildlife to a different site. Rightly, the CNPA themselves recognise that such a move would be experimental and there is no guarantee of success. Such an operation has not been tried before, little is known about the northern damselfly, it has characteristically low populations at its breeding sites and the CNPA do not know whether an appropriate pond and surrounding habitat exists or could be created. If the CNPA seriously want a successful outcome they should have ensured best practice is carefully applied. But rather than maximise the chances of success, the CNPA's planning conditions fail to ensure best practice and do not follow national policy on translocations. This policy requires that the new population is monitored over several generations - that is several years - in order to assess the outcome of the translocation. It seems to BSCG particularly irresponsible that the CNPA have apparently not stipulated that the original lochan must be safeguarded until the translocation is known to have been successful.

Like the lochan, the Milton or Aviemore Burn that runs beside the Tesco site also has an unusually high conservation value. Tesco's own ecologists have reported that this burn supports the Northern February red stonefly. This rarity now occurs nowhere in the world other than certain parts of Scotland. We have an exceptional responsibility for this fascinating species, yeits existence and its vulnerable status.

It is time that the CNPA started to appreciate that poor planning is particularly unacceptable in a National Park. The 'air brushing out' of conflicts with the natural heritage and the failure seriously to address specific environmental concerns is a sure road to environmental deterioration.

Gus Jones
(Covener Badenoch and Strathspery Conservation Group)

Anger Grows as CNPA Reject Conservation Plea

Details
Written by Administrator
Category: Debates
Published: 27 April 2012
As a result of bad planning a Lochan in Aviemore  could be tesco-ed needlessly destroying the home of the UK’s scarcest damselfly the northern damselfly (see http://www.buglife.org.uk/Resources/Buglife/Documents/ScottishInvertebrateNews_2_2.pdf .)
BSCG is disappointed that our call to CNPA staff for a flawed  planning paper to be withdrawn has been rejected .
The response by the CNPA to our call contained in a letter to senior CNPA staff  fails to explain why CNPA planners  have appeared to disregard guidelines on translocation that their own specialists have advised.
As reported on the front page of the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald (25 April) we have commented that:
“The translocation has to be demonstrated to be successful before the donor pond is destroyed and made into the Tesco car park. It is self evident that the existing donor lochan on the site must be safeguarded until several generations of the rarest species such as the northern damselfly have been proved to have successfully bred at any new pond”.
In our view the CNPA  planners are unnecessarily pursuing a course of action which rides roughshod over  the 2004 Nature Conservation Scotland Act.  As the CNPAs adviser has made plain  A translocation programme should follow the guidelines for translocating species as laid down by the JNCC “A Policy for Conservation”
BSCG will be making public how board members who are also standing for council elections will vote to help conservation minded voters make their choice in the forthcoming elections.

IMG_4901-900x600

As a result of bad planning a lochan in Aviemore could be tesco-ed needlessly destroying the home of the UK’s scarcest damselfly the northern damselfly (see Scottish Invertebrate News PDF).

BSCG is disappointed that our call to CNPA staff for a flawed planning paper to be withdrawn has been rejected .

The response by the CNPA to our call contained in a letter to senior CNPA staff  fails to explain why CNPA planners  have appeared to disregard guidelines on translocation that their own specialists have advised.

As reported on the front page of the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald (25 April) we have commented that:

“The translocation has to be demonstrated to be successful before the donor pond is destroyed and made into the Tesco car park. It is self evident that the existing donor lochan on the site must be safeguarded until several generations of the rarest species such as the northern damselfly have been proved to have successfully bred at any new pond”.

In our view the CNPA  planners are unnecessarily pursuing a course of action which rides roughshod over  the 2004 Nature Conservation Scotland Act.  As the CNPAs adviser has made plain  A translocation programme should follow the guidelines for translocating species as laid down by the JNCC “A Policy for Conservation”

BSCG will be making public how board members who are also standing for council elections will vote to help conservation minded voters make their choice in the forthcoming elections.