Tarmac grant helps beetles and bugs thrive

Donation allows water pump replacement at Dogsthorpe Star Pit wildlife reserve in Cambridgeshire

BEETLES, bugs, and other wildlife have received a welcome boost after a donation from the Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund allowed conservationists to replace a vital water pump at a Cambridgeshire nature reserve.

Invertebrates – particularly beetles – that thrive in the wetlands of Dogsthorpe Star Pit, near Peterborough, were regularly threatened by rising flood water, but a grant of £15,423 to the Wildlife Trusts for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire from the Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund has meant that the new pump and other works around the former brickworks site have now been completed.

Named after the Star Brick Company and once excavated for brick clay, Dogsthorpe Star Pit was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1993 and a year later ownership passed to the Wildlife Trust, which has managed the site ever since.

The new pump allows staff at the site to cope more efficiently with changing water levels, as Matt Hamilton, senior reserves manager for the Wildlife Trusts for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Northamptonshire, explained: ‘Salts from the exposed Jurassic clays, while good for rare aquatic invertebrates, are hard on pumping machinery.

‘Over the past year the pit floor had flooded and put at risk much of the key habitat and species that make the site special. Our pump had failed and needed to be replaced, but the pandemic prevented the work being done.

‘To restore lost habitat and give more control in future, we have enhanced the pump chamber inlets and feeder channel and installed a weed screen to help prevent blockages.

‘Shallow pools – so important for aquatic insects – have also been created, adding to an existing mosaic of pools. These are critical for water beetles (63 species have been recorded over the years) and other invertebrates which seek refuge in isolated pools away from fish.

‘The pump is now more efficient, reducing long-term electricity costs,’ added Mr Hamilton. ‘These works have ensured that, despite dire flooding, the site continues to be an excellent habitat for a range of species, including nationally important water beetles, which our surveys have confirmed are still present.’

During a 2021 summer survey, 33 water beetle and 11 bug species were recorded in a single day, including four nationally scarce species, along with many other species uncommon in the region and various species associated with fenland clay pools.

Craig Leigh, quarry manager at Tarmac’s nearby Maxey Quarry, said: ‘The work done by the Wildlife Trusts is valuable in protecting the many different species that inhabit the pit. We are always happy to help put something back into conservation projects such as this via the Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund.’