Rare moth found in Cambridgeshire orchard threatened by busway plan
Rare moth found in Cambridgeshire orchard threatened by busway plan
Appearance of dark crimson underwing causes excitement on land that would be bisected by road scheme
Beneath oak canopies, in an orchard full of hundred-year-old apple trees, excited exclamations rose from a group of moth enthusiasts last week.
The Cambridgeshire Moth Group had just trapped a dark crimson underwing, a species so rare that none of them had ever seen it before. Indeed, the colourful invertebrate is only usually ever found in the New Forest and is considered nationally scarce.
Anna Gazeley, who owns Coton orchard, rushed down to take a look. “At first, it just looked like a normal moth,” she said, “but the moth group was really excited, geeking out, so I kind of fed off their excitement and bent down to take a picture. Then, it opened its wings and I understood – it was really beautiful.”
"The proposed route would serve 6,000 new homes. Campaigners say that instead of a separate busway, the existing road could be widened."
That would also destroy a large amount of hedgerow and trees. It's also the only cycle route into Cambridge from the developments to the west.
But do you know what causes the traffic in the first place? When the schools are out, there is absolutely no problem on that road. The congestion is caused by people driving their kids to private schools in Cambridge in their huge black 4x4s. Stop that and you don't need a busway because the buses can use the road as it is.