Members of Cornwall Orchard Network took a trip to Haye Farm (Haye Farm Cider) which has contained an orchard for many many years. According to the proprietors, cider has been produced on the farm since the 13th century using apples from its orchards. There is a mixture of aged trees, most of the them mature, with some older, some middle aged but lacking younger trees to take over when the older ones start to die out.
We are really grateful to Keith Alexander (Invertebrates specialist), Paul Gainey (lots of specialisms) and Pauline Penna (Fungi specialist) for sharing their knowledge with us and identifying species. An exciting find was the Apple Tree Lace Bug Physatocheila smreczynskii, found mainly on lichen-covered apple trees (for more info and past sightings: Untitled (cisfbr.org.uk) ). It is featured in the Red Date Book for Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly (2009) and is a Species of Principal Importance for the conservation of biodiversity.
Also found was evidence of the Large Fruit Bark Beetle Scolytus mali on a dead apple tree.
We discussed the variety of habitats favoured by these species within each tree and how to ensure, when pruning and caring for older orchards, that we maintain these features. The different habitats favoured by different species – dry wood loving beetles, wet and rotting wood species – within just one tree.
Many thanks to Haye Farm Cider for allowing our visit. Do you have an old orchard that we could visit to have a search, learn and share? We’d love to hear from you. Or have you surveyed your orchard and found some interesting species?
