In the last six months two very exciting discoveries have been made. The first came when we were invited to survey the traditional orchards owned by Weston’s cider company in Herefordshire. While exploring the cavities of old apple trees we found evidence of noble chafer beetle larvae. This exciting find illustrates how a highly successful company are managing their traditional orchards in a manner that is beneficial to wildlife. Even more exciting was our next discovery in Kent. The orchard project team, Anita Burrough and Steve Oram, were carrying out surveys and in the last orchard of the day discovered the characteristic droppings of the noble chafer larvae in several old plum trees. This is a fantastic discovery as the beetle hasn’t been recorded in Kent for over 60 years.
