Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1993, Síða 66

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PESTS RECORDED IN THE FAROE ISLANDS, 1986-1992
Fig. 1. Specimens brought to the Museum of Natural
History in Tórshavn as pests, distributed ac-
cording to location of discovery. N=357.
Mynd l.Dýrasløg send til Føroya Náttúrugripasavn,
býtt eftir fmningarstaði. N=357.
Fig. 2. The wood-boring beetle, Anobium punctatum.
Total length: 3-5 mm.
Mynd 2.Fýrur, Anobium punctatum. Longd: 3-5 mm.
Other species with a close relationship to
man are the anthropochorous species.
These are transported passively by man and
not able to survive outside human settle-
ments. Recent studies from the Faroes have
shown that once introduced, some of the
outdoor anthropochorous species will sur-
vive at the locality even after humans have
moved away (see for instance Enckell,
1985; 1987; Enckell et al., 1986; 1987;
Enckell and Rundgren 1988; 1989). To this
group belongs the house mouse (Mus
musculus), brought by the Vikings to
Iceland (Sæmundsson, 1939) and Green-
land (Hatting, 1982) and probably also to
the Faroes, although the first written record
is as late as 1592 (Degerbøl, 1940). The
brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) arrived later,
in 1768 (Degerbøl, 1940). Still today, these
rodents are unequally distributed through-
out the country (Reinert, 1982).
Human society has changed a great deal
over the centuries, and the 20th century has
seen increased travelling and trading be-
tween countries. This has resulted in an in-
creasing influx of different species. More-
over, mass communications in the latter
half of the 20th century have increased
knowledge of foreign cultures and have
also increased awareness of and interest in
the many and various species of animals
and insects in the environment.
Material and methods
In the Faroe Islands, the usual practice in
previous times was to send the pests to the
Danish Pest Infestation Laboratory for
identification and advice on how to deal
with them. Gradually, as the Faroese com-
munity grew and developed, a greater pro-
portion of these pests has been treated loc-
ally by veterinarians, the Food and Envir-
onmental Institute and the Agricultural Re-
search Center. But over the last decade, an
increasing number have been treated at the