• they provide a permanent way,
• are an all-weather solution,
• are safer than scrambling up and down,
• add interest and
• discourage people from finding their own, multiple, routes.

In this and a follow-up article I describe two different types of construction which I have used in local woods: ladder steps and a more conventional flight of steps.

Ladder steps

These are best suited to very steep changes in level, but only where the change in level is over a short vertical distance; this would not be an appropriate or safe solution for anything more than a rise of about six feet. A good example of where this is the perfect answer is the ladder I put in at Forda Wood, Kilkhampton, Cornwall. Here there is a mature hedgebank running east – west across the full width of the wood. We were reluctant to carve a gap through such a splendid hedge, which is home to many plants and creatures, so a short ladder going up and over the bank seemed the best way of enabling ease of access between the northern and southern sections of the woodland.

Construction needs to be basic but rugged, we are aiming for a solid and reliable practical solution; this is not fine cabinet making. The steps will be constantly exposed to the elements, so choose materials accordingly. 8” x 2” timber for the stringers or side rails (to which the treads are attached), 2” x 2” for the tread supports and 3” x 2” for handrails should do the job. It is best to use pressure treated timber in all cases. For the treads ie the bits you walk on and any top boards which straddle the top of the bank, I use decking timber. Fix using ‘outdoor quality’ screws or coach bolts, not nails. Over time, the treads will get slippery, so for added safety something like chicken netting or welded mesh can be fixed to the treads and top boards, using 40mm galvanised fencing staples.

It is tempting to construct the two stringers, with perfectly spaced tread supports, off-site eg in your shed where you have all your tools to hand, electric power, somewhere level to work etc. However, it is highly unlikely that the place where you are installing the steps will be level, so your two stringers may well be anything other than parallel / level once installed. By all means do as much pre-cutting and drilling of pilot holes etc of treads and tread supports in the comfort of your ‘workshop’, but leave the putting together of the various pierces until you are on-site.

Here is a suggested sequence of actions, based on personal experience i.e.  having got it wrong several times:-

• Having selected your site, clear back as much vegetation as possible to a width of about four feet (based on steps two feet wide)
• At the bottom of the steps bang in a 3” fencing stake (5ft 6” long) to a depth of at least 18”. Do the same at the top of the steps ie on the top of the bank in my example
• Place one stringer board on the inside of the stakes, get it as near to upright as possible, tap it down into the bank a little to hold it in place and then screw it to the two stakes – at least two screws at each end, screwing from board to post, not the other way round
• Repeat this for the other side of the steps, so that the distance between the inner faces of the two boards is just slightly bigger than your chosen width for the steps. Measure the gap between the two boards at top and bottom (before finally fixing the second board) to ensure that they are parallel. You can check that the slope on the two boards is about the same by eye – use a clinometer if you must!
• From the bottom, take a short length of 2” x 2” (just a bit longer than twice the width of your tread boards) and fix it to the inside face of one of the stringer boards, a few inches above the ground. Use a spirit level to ensure that it is horizontal. Do the same on the other side, again using a sprit level to establish the exact position for the batten. If the battens are a bit longer than the width of the stringer, make sure that the bit that sticks out is at the front, not the back
• Now fix one of your tread boards to the front of the battens, aligning it with the bits which stick out
• Leave a small (less than half an inch) gap and secure a second tread board behind the first. This will give a step depth of 10” – 12” which is normally enough
• Keep repeating this process until you reach the top. The vertical rise between steps should ideally be no more than 8”-9”, certainly no more than 12”
• Now you can fix your handrails to the stakes. Before finally fixing, experiment with the height of the handrail and the gradient; a handrail which is parallel to the stringer boards looks right, but doesn’t always feel right – go with what feels most natural and comfortable to you
• If, as in my example, you are going up and over a bank, you now need to fix some boards across the top and then construct a similar set of steps back down the other side
• Once all treads and top boards are secured in place decide whether you wish to put some anti-slip mesh or netting on them. If you do, make sure it is held tightly in place, paying particular attention to the front edges of each step – tripping on the netting is likely to do just as much damage as slipping

Next time, I will describe the construction of a more conventional flight of steps: spades at the ready!

The ‘waggle’ of the dance is the movement of the bee’s abdomen and this gives information about the direction of the food.  The wings vibrate or buzz; the longer the buzzing the further away the food source.  The speed with which the bee dances, and the number of repetitions says something about the nature of the food on offer.

At the Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects at the University of Sussex, Dr Margaret Couvillon is also working on the intricaciesof the waggle dance.  She and her students have decoded many hundreds of variations of the dance.  In some cases, it is possible to relate the dance to the local geography and locate the food source; one dance revealed that the bees were foraging on a patch of crocuses in a nearby wood.  If a good source of nectar or food is nearby then it is important that this is communicated to other bees as searching for food is an energy consuming process.  In the Spring, the bees fly about 700 metres for food but later in the year they may have to fly further.  Research by LASI (Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects) has showing that bees will fly long distances, up to 14 km, for particularly rich sources of nectar such as heather. The moving of hives great distances by truck (especially common in the States) might be one of the factors that contribute to the collapse of colonies; as the bees would have to learn new foraging behaviours.

Bees find flowers through their colour, markings and scents.  Scents are due to the release of volatile oils (hydrocarbons), and these travel through the air giving clues to bees and other pollinators.  However, recent research in America has shown that pollutants such as ozone (from car exhausts) reduce the distance travelled by these floral messages.  It has been estimated that scents might travel up to 4000 ft in the 1800’s but now they would only travel a 1000 feet in the polluted atmosphere of our cities.  If bees cannot build up food reserves in the summer then the colony will have problems surviving the winter.

Information about the foraging activities of bees yields information about which parts of the countryside, and which flowers are good for bees.  This may help ‘us’ create a more ‘bee friendly landscape’.  By understanding the preferences of bees and how they find flowers and food,  the more likely it is that we might be able to establish corridors or areas between the acres of cultivated land to support bees and bumblebees.

Further information on bees and bumblebees at :

• http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/
• http://www.bumblebee.org/
• http://www.britishbee.org.uk/
• http://www.bibba.com/

The first time I came across a Grass Snake in our newly bought wood I almost trod on it, it was a real surprise and I was so lost in my own thoughts it really startled me. I had not thought the woodland provided a very suitable habitat for reptiles and in many respects, it didn’t. Since then I have got a bit more used to seeing a tail disappear at speed into the vegetation and have now started to actively encourage reptiles by improving the habitat for them where I can. Although not everyone’s cup of tea, reptiles are another component of a healthy woodland ecosystem and I have to say, I am a real fan.

The three reptile species you are most likely to find in your wood are the Grass Snake, the Slow Worm and the Viviparous Lizard (more usually called the Common Lizard, poor thing). The Adder, the only venomous British Snake is a possible resident but is more at home in scrubby, heathland type habitat. The other two British species (the Smooth Snake and Sand Lizard) are very rare, highly protected, limited in range and not woodland types.

Finding snakes and lizards.

Woodland is not always the best place for reptiles because as ectotherms, they need the warmth of the sun to get them fully active, and dense shaded woodland does not allow enough sunlight through for them to bask. Underneath a dense canopy the ground cover can be very sparse, too. The places that reptiles seek out to inhabit are open sunny glades and rides, with enough dense ground vegetation present to keep them safe from predators and able to find food. Knowing they might be there is one thing but seeing them is another thing altogether as they are very picky about when to show themselves and very easily disturbed.

The best months to look are May, June and September, so this is a good time now. July and August can be too hot for them to spend in the open and they can be harder to see. Overcast and cloudy days are good too, as reptiles need to spend more time catching the sun’s rays, and mornings are often more productive as they need to spend time picking up warmth after cooler nights

There are essentially two ways to find reptiles. The first is to walk very slowly along suitable habitat, looking about 3 metres ahead (so you spot them before they spot you) focussing on sunny open spots and possible basking places such as brash piles, low logs and open grassy spots. When you walk watch your shadow doesn’t give you away and try to place your feet very quietly. When you get practiced, you begin to know likely spots in your wood and can, with patience, get quite close – Viviparous Lizards and Grass Snakes often stick to the same basking spots if the growing vegetation does not shade them out.

The second technique involves a bit more cunning – you try to encourage the reptiles to come to you by creating inviting basking spots for them in suitable habitat.   All sorts of things make good basking places and hideaways – rectangles of roofing felt, bits of corrugated iron, squares of old carpet. I like using rectangles of medium thickness roofing felt as it is not expensive and easy to carry and cut. Left down in sunny open areas, reptiles are fairly quick to use them – Slow Worms don’t like basking in the open so they are very happy to hide under something warm.  Grass Snakes often do the same. And so does the occasional Field Mouse.  Viviparous Lizards on the other hand like basking on top of these “refuges”(to give them their technical name). Be careful when lifting the refuges to look underneath, use a stick to lift a corner first in the rare chance an Adder is lurking there but more often than not you will find a Slow Worm or Grass Snake underneath. If you do, try not to disturb them, and replace the refuge carefully and promptly.  After a couple of years of using refuges I now know which one’s are likely to have a Slow Worm underneath and on which I will see Viviparous Lizards sunning themselves.  On a recent visit I found a Grass Snake’s discarded skin under one refuge and a sleepy adult under another – I am pretty certain it’s the same one I have been finding there for a couple of years.

Making your wood reptile friendly

All three common species have similar basic requirements – places to find food, mates and warmth. You can help encourage reptiles by creating open glades and sunny rides, the best one’s run east/west so the sun tracks along them. They need to be wide enough so the sun can reach the lower plants for most of the day. You will probably need to keep the taller shrubby vegetation from shading the ground too much and in my wood I hack down some areas of bracken and bramble so the sun can hit reach the low, denser plants and grasses. These areas also encourage flowers and a rich insect fauna– a win for biodiversity all round. Piles of leafy brash make valuable hibernation spots and basking sites. They are also good, warm and safe places for reptiles to raise families. And lastly, provide low piles of logs or artificial refuges to give them needed basking places and protection from predators.

All our British reptile species are facing difficult times and show gradual declines, so making habitat improvements in your wood will be a real bonus for them. There are a number of national organisations committed to conserving our reptile species and information about where and when you are seeing them is valuable data, so please pass on information and sightings to your local Wildlife Trust or one of the county based Reptile and Amphibian Groups (where I live in Kent its KRAG at www.kentarg.org). These organisations also run training courses and are good sources of information. You may value the opportunity for more detailed advice about encouraging reptiles in your wood, or to have a fuller survey undertaken over several visits, as a small woodland owner and practising ecologist, this is one of the fee based services I can provide. ( you can contact me via info@martimages.com)

And lastly….a really useful publication to have when you are out looking for reptiles is “ Britain’s Reptiles and Amphibians” by Howard Inns (Wild Guides). Its full of detail on individual species and has lots more on their habits and lifestyles. And if you don’t know your Adder from your Slow Worm this is the place to start finding out.   Happy hunting !

ps. Sometimes the only view you get – a disappearing snake

We also liase with landowners, conservation partners and local authorities with the aim to improve, expand and connect our fragmented green spaces.   Although we do not have a problem with Rhododendron at Orlton’s Copse, we do deal with it on many other sites.  So as part of this drive, the Sussex Biodiversity Partnership recently held a “Controlling Invasive Rhododendron Workshop” at Tilgate Park in Crawley.  The one-day event was hosted by us and aimed at providing practical solutions to the eradication of the invasive shrub Rhododendron ponticum from local woodlands.

Representatives from local authorities, private landowners and organisations such as the Forestry Commission, the South Downs Joint Committee and the National Trust were given advice on the methods for best results in Rhododendron control, choosing and planning a control programme and information on grants available towards the cost of Rhododendron control. This was followed by a walk through Tilgate Park to highlight some of the issues discussed.

This comes at a time when Rhododendron control is very much in the spotlight again, as it is a host plant to the pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, which has already caused widespread death of Oaks in parts of the USA. This deadly disease is now increasing its’ spread across the UK, affecting many Oaks and Larch trees here as well.

Even without the problems associated with P. Ramorum, Rhododendron ponticum is an invasive, non-native evergreen, which can spread rapidly and dominate the woodland under-story. It can have a severe impact on biodiversity through over-shading and the secretion of toxic chemicals into the soil, both of which restrict the growth of other plants. Sites that are being coppiced or clear felled, are also under threat if Rhododendron is present nearby and woodland owners are being urged to liase with their neighbours if Rhododendron is spreading across boundaries, otherwise any hard work will be undermined by new plants appearing from the land next door!

For more information or advice, please contact Gatwick Greenspace Partnership on 01293 550730 or email petecrawford@sussexwt.org.uk

(* leased from woodlands.co.uk as part of its community woodlands programme)

It is not clear what is affecting bees.   In all probability, it will turn out to be a number of factors.  The intensification of agriculture, the loss of ‘traditional’ meadows (with lots of different plants) and also heather moorlands, means that there are fewer plants for bees.  These changes, coupled with exposure to pesticides and the increasing incidence of parasites (varroa mite) and disease (chalk brood fungus, nosema apis – which invades the gut of a bee) mean that bee colonies are at risk.  The varroa destructor mite is a small spider-like creature which attaches to a bee, and sucks its blood.  Whilst this, in itself, is unlikely to kill a bee, its piercing mouthparts ‘inoculate’ the bee with various viruses –

• acute bee paralysis virus,
• deformed wing virus,
• slow paralysis virus etc.

Fortunately, Sussex University has established LASI – the Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, and appointed the first Professor of Apiculture in the U.K. – Professor Francis Ratnieks.  Also at Sussex is Dr Margaret Couvillon, who is working on the further decoding of the famous waggle dance of the honeybees.

At LASI, they are looking at ways to get around some of the problems that bees face.  They are particularly interested in bees which show a degree of ‘disease resistance’.  In a hive, when larvae or pupae die, their remains can spread disease as they provide a breeding ground for varroa mite.  However, some bees remove dead larvae and pupae from the hive.  This reduces the risk of disease, interfering with the life cycle / reproduction of the mite.  At present, only a small percentage of British hives show this ‘hygienic’ behaviour, so LASI is researching into how to spread this behaviour, so that bee keepers will be able to have colonies of these ‘self cleaning’ bees.

Alongside the threats to honeybees, bumblebees are in sharp decline. Of the various species found in the UK, two are now extinct and many more are seriously threatened.  Like bees, they are responsible for the pollination of many flowers of both commercial and ecological importance.  See also the woodland blog : http://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/wildlife/bumblebees/ and perhaps visit the website of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust .

Put the top piece of furniture on the gate. We will leave the bottom one for now as this enables us to reverse the hinges on the gate and prevent it being carried off by anyone. Now decide how high you want the gate off the ground. If you want it to keep dogs (or kids) in then you may want to set it quite low to the ground. Make sure wherever you place it that it is not going to drag when you open it. Mark the post level with the bottom of the top hinge you have put on the gate. This is the height where you will need to drill a hole through the hanging post.
You need to mark the middle of the gate side of the post at this point. This is another fun part! You will need to drill a level hole straight through the post so you can put the top hanger onto you hanging post. The top hanger is the hook with the long section of thread and a nut on it. The easiest way to drill a hole is with ‘Ted’. This is a petrol driven drill which is an amazing bit of kit! You can also use a good quality high voltage drill here, or the old school way is using a hand brace if you have one – hard work but very satisfying! You will need a long auger drill bit for whatever piece of kit you have here, enough to get through the post and a similar diameter to the threaded part of the top hanging hook. You can create the hole with a shorter drill bit but you have to drill from each side of the post, which can be difficult.
If you have a helper ask them to line up your drill so it looks level, ie at a right angle to the hanging post. Then ask them to gently lean against the post on the opposite side from where you are drilling to prevent the drilling loosening the post. Make sure they are away from where the drill bit comes out the other side!
Once the hole is drilled remove the nut from the top gate hanger and put the hanger into the whole. Again using a helper to lean on the post opposite from where you are, tap the top hanger through until you have a gap of about 4-5 inches between the vertical part of the hanger and the post. Put the nut on and tighten, ensuring that there is still a gap of 3-4 inches between the hanger and the post.
Now you can put your gate on the hanger! Get your helper to hold the gate so it is parallel with the hanging post. Now position your bottom hanging hook so it lines up with the bottom rail of the gate. Mark the hanging post just below the bottom point on this hook. This is where you will place the bottom hanger. Also mark the position of the top of the hanging hook on the gate for when you attach it later. Now take the gate away. For this hanger you will need to drill a hole about half the length of the hanger itself, again as level as possible. Now tap the bottom hanger upside down into the post, ideally with a helper gently pushing again from the other side, until it is a similar distance from post to hanger as the top hanger. It is upside down to prevent the gate from being lifted off its hinges and stolen.
Put the gate on the top hook and let the bottom of the gate lean against the bottom gate hook. Slide the bottom-hanging hinge into position both where you marked it on the bottom of the gate and onto the reversed bottom hanger. Check the gate looks level, either by eye or with Neville. If not you can adjust the gate upward by screwing the nut in on the top hanger, or downward by tapping in the bottom hanger some more. Once any adjustments have been made, slide to bottom hinge on again as above. Drill through for the bolts and attach using the bolts and screws supplied with the kit.
If you are still not happy with the lie of the gate you can adjust slightly by tightening or loosening the nut on the top hanger.
To position your latching post, locate the gate to the position you will want it to be in when closed. You will need to leave a gap of about an inch of so between the gate and the post if you want it to fit flush, or the gate will need to shut to the middle of the post if you want it to latch on the inside/outside. There are many types of (Larry) latches available so have a look and pick one that suits your needs.
Install the post as described with the hanging post above. Fit the latch to the post and the catch to the gate.
Voila! If you have installed the gate in a fence line then re-attach and tension any cut wires to keep the fence line intact.  Beware if you are going through high-tensite steel stockwire – this would need careful cutting after inserting the posts which would need strainers. If the gate is on an old hedge bank line, or in a clearing to create a focal point as an entrance to your wood then you may want to attach some post and rail fencing 6-12 feet either side to enhance the pedestrian gate as a focal point.
A small gate provides an excellent feature for the entrance to your woodland, or a special area within it. It can provide some added security and create an access point whilst keeping your beloved children or pets safe. It also helps you find the entrance to your wood if things have grown a bit since your last visit!!

Equipment : –

• 1 x gate (3 or 4 feet);
• 1x gate hanging post (7 feet tall, 5-6 inches diameter);
• 1x latch post (7 feet tall, 4-5 inches diameter); 1x set of gate furniture (hangers and hooks – usually available as a set);
• 1x latch; 1x gate closer;
• 40mm staples

Tools: Metal spike (with flat top for tamping); small shovel; shove-holers (if available); Drill (cordless ok, petrol driven easier!); (Neville, the) level; hammer; adjustable spanner, fencing pliers (if you are installing the gate into an existing fence line).

How to:
First find a suitable site for your pedestrian entrance gate. This could be inserting in an existing fence line or at a low point in an old hedge bank for example. Make sure the site is as level as possible and clear it of vegetation. If you are putting the gate into an existing fence line you will need to hammer staples into the posts either side of the gate site, then carefully cut the wire at a point in the middle of two posts. You can then roll this out the way and re-tension it and attach it to the gate posts, once installed.
Choose which way you want your gate to swing. This will depend on your own preference and how the surrounding ground lies. If you are carrying goodies or tools into your wood it is easier to be able to swing the gate inwards. If the land slopes upwards from the gate site into your woodland you will need it to swing outwards so it doesn’t scrape on the ground.
When you have selected where your hanging post is going, mark a square area with the shovel that is slightly bigger than the post diameter. This is where the fun begins! If you install a lot of gates like my colleague Dick White and I, you end up naming your tools! So you can start your hole off with the shovel and then dig up the next chunk of soil to be removed with Spike (the metal bar). This is where you pray for lovely loose soil rather than stones. A good tip is to use a large builders tray or something similar here to put the soil onto, especially in wet conditions, to prevent losing soil, as you will need as much as possible to back fill the hole once the post is in.
Keep swapping the shovel for spike and keep digging. If you do have a set of Shove-holers these come in really handy when the hole becomes too deep to use the shovel. If you are not familiar with Shov-holers these are a bit like giant tweezers that enabled you to extract the soil in a deep hole. For a 7 foot post you will need a hole between 2-2.5 feet deep. If your struggling to get you hole that deep because of stones or tree roots go for as close to 2 feet as possible. If it is really necessary you can use ‘post-crete’ which is basically a specific concrete, but I like to use traditional methods of installing the post. This involves putting your post in the hole (this is where you may need some help!) and gradually back filling. Initially put a few stones or rocks around the base of the post – this helps to drain water away from the post. Then cover the rocks with some soil – not too much – and ‘tamp’ down with the flat top of your metal spike. This basically means gently tapping down on the soil to squash it altogether to hold the post firm in the ground. It is important to only put in 3 or 4 inches of soil at a time initially as this helps firm the post.
This is where you need your old mate Neville the level! (Don’t ask me why the tools are all masculine – we end up calling any powered machinery feminine names but that may be another blog article!). Once the post holds itself up, or you have some help, check the post is level, both along the fence line and from the front. Put another line of rocks in and then add some more soil on top and tamp down again. Continue this process, checking the post continues to be level. Once all the soil has been tamped in the post should be nice and firm.

Next – to hang the gate ………

Very occasionally you might need to carry out roadside tree work, which requires some form of traffic control. Typically this work would be the felling or pruning of trees which overhang the carriageway and which are, or are likely to become, a hazard to road users.

A likely sequence of events is:

1. get quotes for the tree work
2. once an acceptable quote has been agreed, find out when the contractor can do the job
3. complete a traffic control application. Your contractor can do this, but will sometimes charge you for doing it
4. once the application is approved, make sure you are able to hire any traffic control equipment [eg stop/go boards, portable traffic lights, cones, chapter 8 signage] on the agreed date, before confirming the date with your contractor, with Ch 8 operator to lay out and operate
5. if applicable, warn neighbours, particularly if their access will be restricted by the works
6. on the day, arrive in good time. Make sure that equipment hire drivers have clear directions and warn them if mobile reception in the area is unreliable.

Hints:

How sitka spruce came to Britain
The history of sitka is interesting: during an expedition to the west coast of North America in the 1790s led by Captain George Vancouver, this spruce was identified by the ship’s botanist, Archibald Menzies who was particularly keen on sitka’s anti-scurvy properties.  For example spruce beer was discovered to be an antidote to scurvy.   However it was another 30-40 years before sitka spruce was first taken back to Britain.  Seeds were brought over by the famous David Douglas (after whom Douglas fir is named).  This botanist introduced over 50 new trees to Britain following his 1823 trip to North America, including sitka spruce.  Douglas had a short but very eventful life and died in 1834 at the age of 36 – quite a contrast to sitka spruce’s first finder, Archibald Menzies, who lived to the age of 98.  Both were Scotsmen whose first jobs were as gardeners and were both critical for the identification and importation of this tree to the UK.

The uses of spruces
Sitka spruce has a high strength to weight ratio which makes it ideal for building work but for the same reason it has also been used for aeroplanes and was used by the Wright brothers and Bleriot.  Later aeroplanes such as the Sopwith Camel (WW1) and the Mosquito (WW2) also used sitka spruce in their construction.  But sitka is also used in pulp form in rayon, high quality paper, explosives and even in nappies.  Piano, violin and guitar makers use sitka spruce for sounding boards and on a more industrial level sitka spruce is pulped for particle board.  Sitka has also been used for pit props and ladders but as far as a woodland owner is concerned it is reassuring to know that it burns without the need for much seasoning.

Why is spruce not always popular?
Many people dislike the landscape aspect of sitka spruce plantations in the UK, seeing them as too uniform and representing the invasion of a foreign army of trees.  This perception may be changing partly because fewer sitka spruce are now planted in lowland areas, giving way to native deciduous species, but also because in many spruce plantations the trees are now getting beyond their “ugly duckling” stage.  Another change that is affecting some forests is a a greater use of continuous cover woodland management techniques that retain a canopy of tree cover and avoid clear felling.  Some people worry about large areas of uniform planting because such ‘monocultures’ are more susceptible to catastrophic risks from diseases and pest damage.  The experience of Thetford forest with red band needle blight in its pine is an example, but a disease or insect which severely damaged sitka spruce would potentially spread very widely in the UK and with enormously bad economic and other consequences.

What is sitka spruce?
Sitka’s branches are arranged in wholes which means they come out of the main stem at regular intervals in a ring of shoots.  The twigs of the young tree do not hang down and are pinkish brown in colour.  The bark is very thin and smooth when sitka spruce is young though it develops scaly plates with age and becomes brown and purplish (slightly reminiscent of humans!).  The cones are orange-brown and about 5-10cm long and usually found in the top quarter of the tree once it is about 20 years old.  There are male and female trees and the cones occur only on the females whilst the male sitkas have dark red flowers.

Picea sitchensis, as it is technically known, is named after the Latin “picis” (meaning pitch or sap) and after the American town of Sitka in Alaska where the tree has existed for hundreds of years.  Actually they are so widespread in Alaska that it is the official state tree.  ‘Spruce’ in English originally meant anything Prussian and there are lots of other types of spruce trees in Prussia (formerly North East Germany).

Many owners of smaller woodlands who have areas of sitka spruce are progressively replacing these with deciduous trees, but it is worth considering thinning the coniferous trees with a view to keeping at least some sitka to retain groups of these magnificent evergreens which can live for over 500 years.

The adult insect is between 20 and 40 mm in length.  It body is shiny black with white markings.  It has distinctive long black antennae which have blue or white rings on them.  The adult female lays eggs under the bark of a tree, and when the larvae hatch they bore down into the wood.  The tunnels created by the feeding larvae render the tree susceptible to disease (fungal and bacterial infection), they also damage the water and minerals transporting system.  These larvae may feed within the tree for two or three years.  They eventually pupate and the adult form emerges often in July or August.

The Food and Environment Research Agency and the Scottish Government are urging people to be vigilant.  If you see a beetle that you suspect might be a citrus longhorn beetle then trap it if possible, and report the finding to FERA (Tel 01904 465625) or email : planthealth.info@fera.gsi.gov.uk .

The image above is taken from the GB Non Native Species Secretariat gallery and is Crown Copyright : https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/nonnativespecies/home/index.cfm