Quote:
Originally Posted by MeadowMouse
Interesting to see the debate on introduced North American Species in the UK. It has happened in reverse though. Our Small White Butterfly got introduced into the US and is now driving out the native Mustard White. An interesting point is that the Mustard White is the same species as out Green-veined White which happily co-exists with the Small White in the UK and the rest of Europe yet in North America the two species cannot co-exist.
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Indeed, the traffic for centuries was mainly the other way round. The Eurasian 7-spot ladybird' Coccinella septempunctata, has invaded most of the eastern part of USA-Canada and was regarded as something of a threat to native species. Nobody seems too concerned about it now that the 'harlequin', Harmonia axyridis, has established!
Sometimes these invaders only shift the balance a little without making other species go extinct. I wonder if the green-veined white will settle in smaller numbers for in selective habitats? After all, it's not that common in *most* of UK - but might have been if it didn't have to compete with the small white?
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