First recorded presence of a naturalised population of Ramulus artemis within the United Kingdom. Details of observations from Calderglen Zoo, East Kilbride, Scotland

Two species of stick insect were identified as present within a closed conservatory in a small zoo located within Calderglen country park in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Whilst there was a known population of stick insects inhabiting the conservatory since the 1990s having originated from enclosures on display, before some individuals are believed to have escaped, it was not certain or ever officially documented what those species were. This was primarily a result of a lack of historical documentation concerning species kept at the zoo which is still relatively small. One species was easily identified as the Indian Stick-insect (Carausius morosus) as most staff were also certain on this ID, however the other established species was not known. Specimens of the unknown species were subsequently sent to the Natural History Museum in London for formal identification, revealing the unknown stick insect to be the Artemis Stick-insect (Ramulus artemis). Both species have thrived within the conservatory, with limited predation or competition and a continuous supply and variety of plant species. R. artemis was shown to demonstrate colour change tactics to blend in with its surroundings, likely connected to food plant they were living on, however more research would be needed to determine this with certainty. Both C. morosus and R. artemis may be capable of producing males within this population however there is not yet sufficient evidence to confirm this and so this aspect requires further investigation. As far as we are aware this is the first report of a sustained naturalised population of R. artemis within the UK.