Hitchhiking Intruders: Invasive pests entering the UK in plants and cut flowers

Invasive pests are slipping unnoticed into northern Europe in huge shipments of cut flowers and potted plants, with potential to damage food crops and the natural environment. They’re also a red flag for a bigger problem: the range of potentially serious agricultural and environmental pests being unwittingly imported to Britain and mainland Europe on ornamental plants and cut flowers, simply because they are difficult to detect in high-volume, fast-moving shipments of plants.