FERA (the Food and Environment Research Agency) monitor many foreign organisms entering the UK  and many of these end up being pest species. Recent additions include the Citrus Longhorn Beetle (Anoplophora chinensis) and a number of plant fungal pathogens (e.g. Phytophthora ramorum). The majority of these are not available on the NBN species dictionaries. Surely, the sooner these are added to the dictionaries and the sooner records are obtained for these species then the sooner this information can be brought to bear on the eradication of such species (or at least used to inform decision making processes).

I would suggest that close communication with FERA would elicit much in the way of 'new' species which need to be added to the dictionaries and that such inter-department / inter-organisation working is imperative to ensure we are all working and are able to work in co-operation / collaboration. See over at:

http://www.fera.defra.gov.uk/plants/pla … /index.cfm

and click on the links in the left-hand menu.

Cheers

Steve