Hardwick Wood

Also within

Cambridgeshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Unit	Feature	Condition	Area (ha)	Assessed
TL353575	—	Favourable	15.47	2023-02-06

Description

Area, 16.9 hectares 41.7 ac Description The ancient core of the site is ash field maple woodland containing both oxlip Primula elatior and primrose Primula vulgaris, a woodland type which is nationally restricted in distribution to small parts of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Essex where the oxlip and primrose woods overlap in their range. The oldest parts of the wood have a canopy of pedunculate oak Quercus robur with an understorey of hazel Corylus avellana, hawthorn Crataegus spp. and scattered field maple Acer campestre. The more recent woodland contains much ash Fraxinus excelsior and some wych elm Ulmus glabra. The ground flora is largely dominated by dog’s mercury Mercurialis perennis and bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta and contains interesting plants such as early purple orchid Orchis mascula and yellow archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon. Rides in the wood provide additional habitat diversity. The adjacent bridleway provides a narrow ‘buffer’ to the wood and contains a population of a nationally restricted plant. The wood is bounded by agricultural ditches.

Species mentioned

Show the 11 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status ▾

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Grouped by host-plant — open a plant to see its insects. Some insects feed on more than one of these plants, so they appear under each.

Common oak Quercus 19

Oak lutestring Cymatophorina diluta	Endangered	Quercus robur
Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	any Quercus
The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
The lackey Malacosoma neustria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Early moth Theria primaria	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Pale eggar Trichiura crataegi	Vulnerable	any Quercus
Oak hook-tip Watsonalla binaria	Vulnerable	Quercus robur
Flounced chestnut Agrochola helvola	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Light crimson underwing Catocala promissa	Near Threatened	Quercus robur
Dark crimson underwing Catocala sponsa	Near Threatened	Quercus robur
Heart moth Dicycla oo	Near Threatened	Quercus robur
Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria	Near Threatened	any Quercus
September thorn Ennomos erosaria	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Double dart Graphiphora augur	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Clay fan-foot Paracolax tristalis	Near Threatened	any Quercus
Common fan-foot Pechipogo strigilata	Near Threatened	Quercus robur
Frosted green Polyploca ridens	Near Threatened	Quercus robur

Wych elm Ulmus 12

Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	any Ulmus
White-letter hairstreak Satyrium w-album	Endangered	any Ulmus, Ulmus glabra
The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	any Ulmus
Broom moth Ceramica pisi	Vulnerable	any Ulmus
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	any Ulmus
The lackey Malacosoma neustria	Vulnerable	any Ulmus
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	Ulmus glabra
Flounced chestnut Agrochola helvola	Near Threatened	any Ulmus
Dusky-lemon sallow Cirrhia gilvago	Near Threatened	Ulmus glabra
The sallow Cirrhia icteritia	Near Threatened	Ulmus glabra
Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria	Near Threatened	any Ulmus
Double dart Graphiphora augur	Near Threatened	any Ulmus

Hazel Corylus avellana 7

Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens	Endangered	Corylus avellana
The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	Corylus avellana
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	Corylus avellana
The lackey Malacosoma neustria	Vulnerable	Corylus avellana
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	Corylus avellana
Pale eggar Trichiura crataegi	Vulnerable	Corylus avellana
Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria	Near Threatened	Corylus avellana

Ash Fraxinus excelsior 3

The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx	Vulnerable	Fraxinus excelsior
Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria	Vulnerable	Fraxinus excelsior
Dusky thorn Ennomos fuscantaria	Near Threatened	Fraxinus excelsior

Field maple Acer campestre 2

Maple pug Eupithecia inturbata	Endangered	Acer campestre
Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria	Vulnerable	Acer campestre

Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta 1

Autumnal rustic Eugnorisma glareosa

Near Threatened

Hyacinthoides non-scripta

Primrose Primula vulgaris 1

Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina

Endangered

Primula vulgaris

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.