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W. Nentwig
1987
1984
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1979
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1941 1983
1990
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1914
Fig. 2.2 Spread of the spider Zodarion rubidum from its restricted area of origin in the
eastern French Pyrenees to larger parts of Europe within 80 years along major international
railway routes (map modified from Pekar 2002, drawing by Jan Bosselaers, with
kind permission)
The horse chestnut leaf miner Cameraria ohridella, which seriously defoliates
the horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum, was first detected in Macedonia
from where it spread throughout Europe within only 15 years. This
rapid distribution has been explained by vehicles transporting the adult
moths or dead leaves containing pupae, consistent with distribution patterns
along main highways and in urban areas (Gilbert et al. 2004). Pekar (2002)
considers that the spread of the spider Zodarion rubidum, formerly known
only in the French Pyrenees but having spread all over Europe over the last
100 years, can be explained by the railway system which allows the spider to
hitchhike over large distances (Fig. 2.2).
Military traffic is “normal” traffic, as mentioned above, but it is less controlled,
has its own infrastructure and, therefore, bears more risks. To date, the
best-known example with huge consequences concerns the nocturnal snake
Boiga irregularis. Hiding in containers, it was transported from the Admiralty
Islands to Guam and later to other Pacific islands as well. On Guam, B. irregularis
preyed so intensively on the birds, most of them endemic, that these
became extinct or very rare. Today, Guam is an avian desert (Savidge 1987),