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William Collins
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This eBook first published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2019
Copyright © Dan Eatherley 2019
Nineteenth-century engravings on chapter title pages are © Shutterstock, with the exception of chapter 6, which is © ilbusca / Getty Images
Cover design © Jo Walker
Cover images © Getty Images
Dan Eatherley asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
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Source ISBN: 9780008262747
eBook Edition © June 2019 ISBN: 9780008262761
Version: 2019-05-28
To Georgia
‘Turkeys, carps, hops, pickerel, and beer,
Came into England all in one year.’
Chronicle of the Kings of England
unto the Death of King James, Sir Richard Baker, 1643
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
Prologue
1 Ecological Explosions
2 First Invaders
3 Romans and Normans
4 New Worlds, New Invaders
5 The Empire Strikes Back
6 The Plant Hunters
7 Unwanted Hitch-Hikers
8 Fur Farm
9 Freshwater Invaders
10 Underneath the Waves
11 Fighting Fire with Fire
12 The Future
Further Reading
Index of Species
General Index
Acknowledgements
About the Book
About the Author
About the Publisher
Tetbury, Gloucestershire. 2.30 pm. Wednesday 28 September 2016
The wind had strengthened again and was blowing in short, powerful flurries. Graham paced up and down, his attention focused on the boundary hedges. Drawn by reports of sightings in the area, the team had last week netted several specimens of the invader that had been hawking for prey on ivy clinging to the trunk of one of the garden’s cypresses. A reliable line of sight had been achieved and further samples dispatched for DNA analysis. But that had been all.
Graham approached the conifer once more. No activity here today. As he turned back though, something danced in his peripheral vision, something way up in the cypress closest to the house. Was it his imagination? He squinted for a better look. Sure enough, four, five, maybe six, large-ish insects were whirling about the highest branches.
What the heck were they doing? What on earth was interesting them up there?
Not yet daring to hope, he reached for his binoculars. Within moments Graham confirmed the target species and shouted over to his colleague.
‘Hey Gordon! This could be it!’
Confidence building, Graham scanned the canopy for a few seconds, but saw only thick evergreen branches whipping and twisting in the wind. Frustrating. He stepped back a pace.
In that instant, a gust lifted the foliage enough to reveal a tell-tale patch of light brown against the darker trunk. Had he been standing a foot to the left
