tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7541969416563942273.post3894280258457248411..comments2023-06-19T10:11:05.122+01:00Comments on East Glamorgan Wildlife: Non-native amphipod?Adam Mantellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08825643943800910778noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7541969416563942273.post-2225295739698387452014-03-31T22:59:06.800+01:002014-03-31T22:59:06.800+01:00That's about 1km from where I saw them (ST1537...That's about 1km from where I saw them (ST153788). The lack of freeze tolerance perhaps means that the population near me has been lost anyway, as I saw them before the cold winters of 2009 and 2010. I'll have to ask Mike if he still sees them.GMThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08759152282751126808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7541969416563942273.post-42358048677572923752014-03-31T21:24:00.596+01:002014-03-31T21:24:00.596+01:00Having looked again at the map George, the area wh...Having looked again at the map George, the area where I found them is south of the A48 so probably more Gabalfa than Llandaff to be honest, possibly quite close to your friend. I've got NGR ST 165 783 on the specimen label if you want to have a look. Apparently they have very limited tolerance of dessication and are confined to areas with significant leaf litter (woodland I guess that would be!) so a road may be a significant barrier. <br /><br />They look just like dark sand-hoppers Mark, pretty unmistakeable in fact, although you could be forgiven for mistaking the smaller ones for larger collembola as they jump in a similar way. At their largest they are about 10mm long, though the specimen in the photo was smaller at about 7mm. I'm not surprised you haven't seen them up your way as they apparently have poor tolerance of low temperatures, and temps below 0 degrees gives 100% mortality. The last winter with it's mild temperatures and constant rain must have been perfect for them though which I guess is why they are now out in plague proportions!<br /><br />Adam Mantellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08825643943800910778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7541969416563942273.post-91202587695088379982014-03-31T20:22:53.857+01:002014-03-31T20:22:53.857+01:00I've never seen them up here and I do a lot of...I've never seen them up here and I do a lot of dibbling about in leaf litter, while working. I'll keep a closer watch for them, How large are they? Tiny if the comparison to that beech leaf is anything to go by.Mark Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02372785801699168219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7541969416563942273.post-27530401173917735382014-03-31T19:57:02.713+01:002014-03-31T19:57:02.713+01:00Interesting post Adam. When we moved to Llandaff N...Interesting post Adam. When we moved to Llandaff North in 2007 a friend who lives locally showed us a large population of this species (presumably the same species anyway) in leaf litter at the end of his garden. He only lives about 100m from us but we've never seen them in our garden despite having suitable-looking habitat. He lives on the other side of Gabalfa Avenue and a big roundabout, so perhaps all the tarmac is too much of a barrier to them.GMThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08759152282751126808noreply@blogger.com