Leiobunum sp  |
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| This large Leiobunum
Harvestman first appeared in The Netherlands in 2004 and
still remains scientifically unidentified to species
level. It is believed to have been introduced, but is a
very invasive species, quickly forming large
congregations numbers many hundreds on the shaded walls
of buildings. Records in Germany, Switzerland and Austria
came during the following years and France's first record
was in 2009, the same year we found this one on the wall
of a house in Worksop. For two years we could not
identify it and it was'nt until searching for images of
another recent species new to the UK, that we found
images that matched our specimen. Images were sent to
experts in the UK and Germany who both confirmed our
suspicions that this was the UK's first record of Leiobunum
sp. Leiobunum sp is a very dark, extremely long-legged Harvestman, obviously much larger than other UK Harvestmen, with a leg span of around 100mm. They can be looked for on the shaded north-facing walls of houses, factories etc, where numbers can reach hundreds in large groups by day. They are nocturnal hunters, that could have an affect on some of our native species. Further surveys in the area of the original finding, should reveal further records in the next few years. Adults can remain active well into December. |
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| UK distribution of Leiobunum sp
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 The UK distribution maps on eakringbirds.com are provided by the National Biodiversity Network (NBN Gateway) Each red square on the map indicates species present in 10km grid squares. Updated September 2011 |
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