On Wednesday, 14th March, 5 elm trees were planted at Pennytown Ponds, which are resistant to Dutch Elm Disease.  Their scientific name is Ulmus ‘Sapporo Autumn Gold’.   

These trees were planted to compensate for the general loss of native elm trees (which are succumbing to Dutch Elm Disease).  The planting was carried out by members of the Pennytown Ponds Group, Groundwork conservation volunteers and Ross Pearson of Amber Valley Borough Council, and was part of a small project which is being co-ordinated by Derbyshire Wildlife trust. 

The resistant elms are being planted at various sites with the aim of conserving a specific species of butterfly. The ‘White Letter Hairstreak’ butterfly depends entirely on elms to survive. It lays its eggs on the trees and when they hatch in the Spring the caterpillars feed on the elm flowers. The butterfly has obviously declined significantly due to loss of elms, so it is hoped that planting resistant varieties will provide it with a suitable habitat. The butterfly has been recorded at Pennytown, which is why it was decided to plant the trees there.