A baseline study of the invertebrates associated with veteran trees was carried out in part of an area of upland hill farm that is being included in a rewilding scheme. The study site is an oak woodland along the valley of the Bedalder River, on the fringes of Bodmin Moor. Flight interception trapping across the 2021 field season produced 228 species of Diptera including a very notable 114 species of fungus gnat. Seven of these Diptera have conservation status in Britain including one Near Threatened. One species is also new to the British list although believed to be an overlooked native - Sciophila arizonensis Zaitzev (Mycetophilidae). The Coleoptera proved to be much less interesting, with just 42 species trapped and including three Nationally Scarce species. The Diptera included 87 species which are at least in part saproxylic and the Coleoptera included 22 saproxylics. The final total of saproxylic species for this upland fringe woodland is therefore in excess of 100 species which is an impressive total for the situation.
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