Recognising a new species

[meinchewster]

Should any of us be lucky enough to find a new species within the UK, does anyone know the process of legitimising and confirming that it is actually a new species?

I distantly recall a study in Leicestershire I think of a woman who recorded numerous new species in her garden (maybe in the 80s or 90s) with several species of Ichnuemon wasps being new to the species list.

I suppose the biggest issue is being able to recognise something as slightly different in the field initially and being realistic about odds being stacked against it.

Has any of our members discovered a new species or subspecies before?

[Jason Green]

Good morning, Mein

I was about to sign-off and was just seeing who was online, and then saw a thread being created in Insects and Invertebrates. I thought I'd give it a few seconds longer. I hope it being late hasn't affected the clarity of my reply!

Well, an interesting question. I think a lot of insects that are added to the list are caught in a net, killed using a recognised means such as Ethyl Acetate and the body is then put under the microscope and keyed-out. If something looks odd then it is preserved - either by pinning, card-pointing or immersing in 70% alcohol (esp. for soft-bodied insects - Mites, Collembola and Aphids). Next, it's sent to an expert for verification - this could be someone well-known, a Recording Scheme organiser possibly, or the Natural History Museum. If they agree it's new, then it's added - to the best of my knowledge.

As for Ichneumon wasps, there are about 7,000 species that we know of here, so I've heard - and I'd bet many more waiting to be found. They needn't be new to the UK though, they could have been here for centuries, just up until now slipped through the net - it's a pretty specialist area. They may all look the same, but have minor differences that show up at high magnification.

Other insects, such as the fly Phasia hemiptera, is distinctive in the field (it isn't all about microscopic examination in all cases). There is another similar-looker predicted to enter the UK, so a live or preserved specimen would need to be retained. Without a so-called 'voucher', it can't be added - even with good field images to the best of my knowledge.

Under-recording is a major factor in finding new species. Many areas - Mites, Springtails, Barkflies, etc. - are pretty under-recorded. Those who go out of their way to look for them, have a good chance of making a new discovery. Barkflies are an area of interest to me. I've potographed one called 'Blaste quadrimaculata', which is rarely-recorded. Bob Saville from the UK Recording Scheme was happy to positively identify it based on a photo. Had he been unabl to recognise it or knew it was one that wasn't on the UK list, he'd have needed a live specimen to add it as a British insect. If I thought an individual was possibly new I'd retain one until I knew either way. I suppose some knowledge of a group o insects is an advantage, in knowing if it's something unusual in the field. Fortunately it's a distinctive one! These are extremely under-recorded, and as such we are all in with the same chance to find a new one.

Also, Psyllids are similar to another degree.

Of course, you can find a new species to your area, or even a 10km square. I've done that with the new-ish UK Tree Bumblebee, Bombus hypnorum. This to my mind is easier to achieve - the species is normally recognised in the UK list, and so field photographs should be enough to have added to a UK Recording Scheme - so long as the photo shows all the distinguishing characters it needs. If not a voucher may be required.

Oops, I've written rather a lot. I hope I haven't bored anyone! I will look forward to views from experts

Take care,

Jason

[oxycera]

I found a fungus-gnat new to UK last year. I recognised it (based on genitalia, under the microscope of course) because I have appropriate reference books/papers - and 10 years worth of collecting these flies almost exclusively, thereby acquiring a certain familiarity (that can never be gained simply by looking at pictures).
I then sent a specimen (I found 2) to the national recorder who confirmed it.
Once the record is published in a suitable journal the it can be considered as on the 'British list'.

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by meinchewster

Should any of us be lucky enough to find a new species within the UK, does anyone know the process of legitimising and confirming that it is actually a new species?

There are two things here species new to the British Isles and species new to science. Experts in their own field would probably recognise that they weren't dealing with a member of the British List and would then look in the European keys/lists or the World ones - they do exist. If they couldn't identify it they would go to a world expert.
One thing to note regarding species new to science: it is the person who identifies and publishes the report who is the discoverer, so not necessarily the person who first finds it!

I distantly recall a study in Leicestershire I think of a woman who recorded numerous new species in her garden (maybe in the 80s or 90s) with several species of Ichnuemon wasps being new to the species list.

Dr Jennifer Owen, I think. She published a book which contains a lot of lists but also more interesting general stuff. What's notable is that as well as 'new' species she found a lot of unidentifiable species - there was no one to identify all her flies, I recall ....

I suppose the biggest issue is being able to recognise something as slightly different in the field initially and being realistic about odds being stacked against it.

In truth, only people who are already fairly expert are likely to do this. Most 'new' species tend to be discovered in mass searches where lots of experts are available to name everything found ..........

Has any of our members discovered a new species or subspecies before?

As examples, I've been involved in adding two species to British lists: I stood no chances of identifying either of them so was dependent on the advice of experts. The spider Zodarion italicum was found by chance in a pitfall trap so I passed it on (with other spiders) to Peter Harvey who passed it to another expert who recognised it as a European species new to UK: my part was negligible. So some discoveries are pure chance!
I had more to do with the other one, the chalcid Aprostocetus neglectus - I was deliberately collecting parasitoids of ladybirds and sending them to experts for identification; Dick Askew identified this wasp and pointed me in the direction of the distribution list for the family - it was not noted for the British Isles therefore I could add it to the list. This was simply a matter of looking - no suggestion that the chalcid had recently arrived in UK, just that nobody had examined these parasitoids before.
Jason mentions that it's amongst the smaller and lesser studied beasts that 'new' species are most likely to be found; that's certainly true of the parasitoid Hymenoptera ... there must be thousands yet to be discovered in UK and more currently unknown to science over the world. Someone has suggested that the Coleoptera is not the largest taxon on Earth, that's the Hymenoptera because there are still so many more to discover.

[thunder]

I was with Dr Bruce Ing, the British slime mould expert, on a foray, when he pointed to a yellow lump on a log some ten feet away and said "That's Whatitsname tiddleypush, new to Britain" (Sorry I can't remember the real name ), and so it was - the first British record. And that depended on his expert knowledge of not only the British species, but European ones as well.


From Aethur Maitlamd Emmet's obituary in the Independent:
"In 1990, as he arrived in the car park at Imperial College, London, for the annual exhibition of the British Entomological Society, he picked off the ground a plane leaf containing a larval mine. Entering the exhibition, he placed it on a table and told the surprised entomologists: "Here you are. It's new to Britain - Phyllonorycter platani." "

Again, familiarity with British and European species is the common factor.

henrya

[eucera]

I am lucky enough to have found several bee species that are undescribed (probably about a dozen). In only one case was any these species absolutely new (a small species of Chelostoma from Israel). All the other species were known, but the leading authority needed to see more specimens for the paratype series before publishing the names and preparing new keys.

As one might imagine, this is a slow business and involves considerable knowledge of the species that already exist, a knowledge of the literature and the ability to identify differences.

[fairplay]

My finding of Ant Lion pits (with larvae) on Dunwich Heath (National Trust) in 1986 is the earliest known record in Britain.
This at the same time confirmed this species as breeding in Britain.

It is still restricted to Suffolk as far as I know.

Neil.

[meinchewster]

Some really interesting replies, thanks guys.

The reason for my post is that I know of atleast one species of Alderfly for example that no-one has ever found the larvae of and I have considered this for some time. I suspect even in Britain and other such temperate climates with comparitively less species diversity, there are still many species we have to discover let alone understand their functions and relationships within ecosystems.

Surely then it is a holy grail amongst entomologists to discover a new species (by which I meant a new species to science not just to Britain).

[harasseddad]

Originally Posted by fairplay

My finding of Ant Lion pits (with larvae) on Dunwich Heath (National Trust) in 1986 is the earliest known record in Britain.
This at the same time confirmed this species as breeding in Britain.

It is still restricted to Suffolk as far as I know.

Neil.

At least two records from Norfolk now. (One of em from me!)

For the non-expert, gaining a "new to the uk" is fairly easy at the moment as climate change brings so many european species in. Dragonflies add a species every two years on average for example. Helps to be on the east coast though.

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by harasseddad

......For the non-expert, gaining a "new to the uk" is fairly easy at the moment as climate change brings so many european species in. Dragonflies add a species every two years on average for example. Helps to be on the east coast though.

Yes and no! It's true that many vagrants turn up with many imported in food and other products. They won't be added to the British list unless they establish and are seen in the wild over several years. Still worth recording though and helps to expand our personal knowledge.