Category Archives: insects

Bugs and Swifts at Trumpington Community Orchard

28 Sunday Aug 2022

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Bugs and Swifts for the Heritage Open Days Sunday 18 September 2022 14:00 – 16:00

Take a tour around our small plant-filled oasis designed to enhance the community and promote biodiversity and educate people about fruit production, wildflower meadows and conservation.

Innovation is not just technology, but the integration of sustainable food production with biodiversity and conservation is an innovative approach to a new way of living to minimize consumerism and maximize a positive environmental impact.

The visit will highlight how the community orchard and wildflower meadow contribute to biodiversity, illustrated by the bugs found. In addition the swift tower and observational beehive illustrate the possible contribution to conservation as both swifts and bees have been in decline (sadly this year swifts have been added to the red list, emphasizing the urgent need for action).

Trumpington Community Orchard illustrates how nature needs to be the central consideration in all INNOVATIVE community planning.

Juvenile swifts

No booking required, just turn up. Please park considerately in this residential area. The event is free but we rely on donations to keep the orchard going.

Bug hunting and bees

26 Sunday Sep 2021

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Our Open Cambridge event on Saturday 11 September was a great success. Susanna, who is one of our founder members, said, ‘Saturday went really well with sunshine and lots of happy families joining us at the orchard for the bug hunt and plant potting. Tristan did a stoic job leading the bug hunt and showing people how to use a key to help identify the ” beasties”. There were magnificent spiders , grass hoppers and a couple of fat crickets and every one had a fantastic time. Rosa was in charge of greeting our guests and selling apple juice as well as collecting donations. I led the potting up session with a selection of strawberries, sage and rosemary that I’d set up a few weeks ago from runners or cuttings from my allotment. Everyone took at least one plant home with instructions of how to care for them. One enterprising child found a rosemary beetle and then potted up some rosemary to take home so that she could keep the beetle as a pet ( with parental consent of course!) Chris has been busy again making a shelter at the entrance to the orchard (prompted by us getting soaked on Friday evening when we went down to set up the notice board). He has also painted the sign on the gate and re-varnished the wood so our kissing gate looks beautiful. Dave has not had a chance to put bees into the observation hive this year but a colony has moved in anyway.’

Our new shelter – thanks Chris!
Bees doing their own thing, as they usually do, in the observation hive.

We’re going on a bug hunt

06 Monday Sep 2021

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On Saturday 11th September 2021 from 2 – 4pm in the orchard, we will be searching for as many bugs and minibeasts as we can find. All creatures, once examined and recorded, will be carefully returned to where we found them.

Come along and see what you can find. No experience necessary, and no knowledge of bugs required.

Last time we did this, we found a lot of bugs!

This event is part of Open Cambridge It is a free event, but donations to keep our orchard going are much appreciated.

Orchard minibeasts

07 Friday May 2021

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We were delighted to show a group of walkers around the orchard and even more delighted when they showed us what they had found while exploring. Trumpington Orchard is looked after to benefit as many types of animals, insects and wild flora as possible, and it’s great to have some proof of all our hard work.

More information on these fabulous finds are linked to the titles. Warning – these images include a spider. We like spiders, but we recognise not everyone is keen on seeing one unexpectedly.

Photos taken by Paul Rule.

Goodens Nomad Beehttps://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/goodens-nomad-bee/#:~:text=Gooden’s%20Nomad%20bee%20(Nomada%20goodeniana)%20is%20one%20of%20the%20largest,lay%20their%20own%20eggs%20inside.
Flavous Nomad bee (probably)https://www.gedlingconservationtrust.org/species/apocrita-aculeata/flavous-nomad-bee/
Common Cornsaladhttps://www.ukwildflowers.com/Web_pages/valerianella_locusta_common_cornsalad.htm
Cricket Bat Spiderhttps://www.uksafari.com/cricket_bat_spiders.htm
Woundwort Shieldbughttps://www.britishbugs.org.uk/heteroptera/Pentatomidae/eysarcoris_venustissimus.html

Moth Night 2015

07 Monday Sep 2015

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Moth Night 2015 – Friday 11 September 8pm. Come to the Orchard at 8pm this Friday, where local expert Charles Turner (from Cambridge Natural History Society) will be luring moths down with a big light and a sheet. See how many different species we can identify this year. Obviously, wear warm clothes, bring a torch, and park with consideration on the local streets. Free event, donations appreciated. We will be finished (or in the pub) by 10pm.

Here’s one we got a close look at last Moth Night. We let it go straight away, of course.

moth night 2015

Apple days are here again

06 Sunday Oct 2013

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I cannot believe it; every year the change of the seasons takes me by surprise (usually when I realise I need to put new batteries in my bike lights). But the leaves are turning, conkers are falling on my head – and apples are ready to be picked.

This year we are supporting two local events:
Scotsdales Apple Day on Sunday 20th October
Cambridge University Botanic Garden Apple Day on Sunday 27 October.

Come and see us at these events – we will have grafted trees for sale at the Botanic Garden, while Scotsdales is hosting a recipe swap, so bring your family favourites.

I am also giving a talk to the Plant Heritage Society on Saturday 12 October.
Meanwhile, down in the orchard today, I found the nest of a Rusty Tussock Moth – with Mama moth in residence, looking after her eggs.  And that’s a lot of babies!

rusty tussock moth

Moths, wasps and bumble bees

12 Monday Aug 2013

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Last weekend we held our annual Moth night – we set up light traps and then on Sunday morning identified and counted every moth and bug that had been attracted to the traps – before carefully letting them all go. We counted twenty-eight different species, which was good for a rather damp night. Biodiversity is not without its challenges, of course. The two largest apples in the orchard, hanging from the Red Victoria tree, look delicious from a distance but, oh dear – look what I found feasting within!

red victoria wasp

Still, our helpers were not deterred by the odd wasp, and set about weeding around the trees. There really are trees in there, somewhere. I think the wild flowers have set plenty of seeds this year.

august helpersThe orchard is tucked at the end of Foster Road allotments, and cycling home past them I had to stop to marvel at the biggest bumble bee I have ever seen. She was collecting pollen from a red sunflower, so that gives an indication of her size; she was a thumb length and width.  I hope she comes and overwinters in one of the bee houses we’ve put into the orchard.

big bumble close

Bat Night and Moth Morning

04 Monday Jun 2012

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The orchard is holding its annual bat walk and moth night on 9th and 10th of June 2012.We will meet in the orchard at 9pm on Saturday 9.6.12 for a bat walk along and around the guided busway. Moth traps will be set up at this time and you can observe how this is done. Meet again at 10am on Sunday 10.6.12  in the orchard to empty the moth traps,identify the different species and release them back into their habitat. Dave Jackson,a local bee keeper, will then give a talk about honey bees and show the colony that is in our observation hive.This promises to be a very full weekend as this Sunday is the second Sunday in the month, so we will also have our maintenance session. We will carry out the regular tree check and weed around the base of each tree. The hedgerows need invasive weeds such as bramble and elder removing .All help is gratefully received. Looking forward to an exciting weekend.
Please remember there are no facilities on site, and especially for the bat walk please dress for the weather and bring a torch.