HARDWORKING members of the Friends of Rawcliffe Meadows have been preparing the perfect environment for rare tansy beetles to flourish.

Volunteers spent Sunday rushing to finish work on trees and hedges before the endangered species, found on a 30km stretch of the banks of the River Ouse, reappears in March after spending the winter months underground.

Dr Mick Phythian, of York Natural Environment Trust, said he is hoping to see another increase in the number of beetles this year after a drop in the population following the 2015 floods.

He said: “The tansy beetles and plants seem to be quite sensitive to sunlight - they like a lot of it. We work on trees in November when the beetles should be well asleep so we don’t disturb them. They can be unpredictable, they go back underground in May and come back out in late August or September.

“Later in the summer the tansy plants can grow to two or three feet tall and you will get the beetles climbing to the top of them. If anyone’s cycling past they can normally see them because they do stand out a bit.”

Dr Phythian said the volunteers will finish work on trees in the meadows and clearing Willow and Hazel from around the pond before the beetles appear to avoid trampling them.

The team were also finishing laying a hedge on the Blue Beck Copse boundary and preparing the area for birds to begin nesting.

He added: “We are passing winter and preparing the land for spring. We try to keep the cattle that graze here away from some of the area for the beetles. It’s a cross between managing a nature reserve and agriculture.

“The grassland is full of herbs here are it’s very pretty.”

Volunteers from the group will be cutting back shrubs surrounding the pond this Sunday to allow more light for tansy plants to grow at the meadows, which are registered as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

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