Blog - beetle

Offer a home to a beetle, or two?

Offer a home to a beetle, or two?

by The blog at woodlands.co.uk, 18 June, 2021, 0 comments

Across the globe, insects are in decline. There are several (over-lapping) causes of the decline, ranging from habitat loss, the effect of artificial lighting, the use of agrochemicals (e.g. the neonicotinoids) and herbicides, such as glyphosate. The latter is one of the most commonly used weedkillers and might not be expected to affect insects. However, recent research has shown that it can affect the formation of the hard exoskeleton of beetles. It does this by affecting their symbiotic bacteria; these contribute an essential building block (an amino acid) for the exoskeleton. Early summer should be ‘peak beetle time’ Read more...

Taking up a Green Woodworking course - at York Wood Crafts

Taking up a Green Woodworking course – at York Wood Crafts

by Paul Morton, 23 October, 2014, 1 comments

After we bought our woodland, we were given £300 by Woodlands.co.uk for a course and I chose a green woodworking course for two of us - me and my 11-year old son, Thomas. The course is designed to give beginners a taste of a variety of the skills and techniques that are used in green woodworking. Before booking the course, I spoke to Ben at York Woodcrafts about the suitability of the course for my son; and was really pleased that Thomas could attend as he already had some tool handling skills. During this 2-day course, our main project was each making a stool and as part of this we learnt how to select wood and understand the wood shrinkage from its green state. We split wood (Cleaving) with a Froe (a splitting chisel) and a Beetle (wooden mallet) - which really helps you understand how wood grain can be twisted, depending on where its grown. Read more...

Wood - "Dirtier than coal"

Wood – “Dirtier than coal”

by Angus, 2 January, 2014, 1 comments

About a year ago the RSPB, along with Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, put the cat among the proverbial pigeons by arguing that use of some woodfuel is "Dirtier than Coal". This caused controversy amongst woodfuel zealots but the study showed that not all woodfuel is created equally. The report was particularly concerned about subsidies which encourage the burning of whole trees where they are grown especially for woodfuel, and where these displace other land uses often to be transported long distances for power stations. The "Dirtier than Coal' report said that full carbon accounting was necessary and we should take account of the short term effect of clear felling rather than using thinings: clear felling can lose the benefit of carbon fixing which is achieved by letting trees grow on. The RSPB position is that we need to do full carbon accounting, create new woodlands and set up coherent sustainability standards. Read more...

Citrus Longhorn beetle

Citrus Longhorn beetle

by Chris, 5 August, 2010, 1 comments

This last week, a Citrus longhorn Beetle was found in Rutland. This beetle is found occasionally on imported trees, such as Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum). However each finding or interception (as the finding of the occasional beetle is sometimes termed) is treated seriously as the beetle, which is native to China and Japan, has established itself in Lombardy and other parts of the EU. Read more...

pine forest New York State

Bark Beetles

by Chris, 8 May, 2010, 4 comments

In and around the Rocky Mountains, the wholesale destruction of vast areas of pine forests is occurring. The annihilation of these forests is due to a beetle – the Bark Beetle, which devours the soft tissues underneath the bark. The beetle is quite small, bit like a grain of rice. Vast tracks of forests have been ‘lost’ to this beetle; it has been estimated that some six million acres have been affected in the United States, and even greater areas in Canada, especially in British Colombia, where many more million of acres may be lost. Read more...

Wild Flower Guide

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Read our guide to wild flowers of woodland and hedgerow

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