One very much neglected aspect of research into the Forest's wildlife is the association that insects
have with the dung of these animals. The physical Forest has been in existence for many hundreds of
years and has had a continuity of grazing herbivores, largely cattle and horses. I suspect that these
factors have aided the survival of a rich associated fauna. On the previous page I have included a list
of over a hundred species of fly and beetle associated with dung found on the Forest. Every so often
there are calls to remove the cattle from the Forest mainly because of the possibility of collision with
motor vehicles. Already the winter grazing rights have been bought out by the Conservators. If we
were to lose the remaining cattle, it would be a disaster for those insects that feed on cow dung. They
require a continuity of this micro-habitat. The majority of species in the lists below are found on cow
or horse dung. Some species, for example the flies Fannia canicularis and Paregle radicum, are found
in a great variety of dung. Other are more specific in their requirements: the beetles Aphodius zenkeri
and Oxytelus nitidulus are only known from deer dung in Epping Forest. Two species of fly
Opalimosina collini (Leptocera collini) and O. simplex (Leptocera grenstedi var. simplex) new to
science were described from Epping Forest specimens found on cow dung. Each different type of
dung - horse, cattle, deer, rodent or bird - imposes a different set of micro-habitat requirements on a
potential feeder. Horse dung is very fibrous; deer dung is usually in the form of small pellets. Insects
can be found on dung throughout the year. Obviously the majority occur during the summer months,
but even in the depths of winter, with frost on the ground, you can find the small black fly Copromyza
equina on horse dung, presumably the fermenting dung providing a degree of warmth. I think the
Forest would be a much poorer place for the loss of the large black scarab beetle, Geotrupes
stercorarius, with its metallic purple underside, which can still be seen on warm summer days on
Wanstead Flats, winging its way to a freshly dropped cow-pat!
References
Buck. F D. (1955) A Provisional List of the Coleoptera of Epping Forest. Ent, Mon. Mag, VolXCI. p. 174-192.
Chapman, N (1984) Fallow Deer. Mammal Society.
Fisher, W. R (1887) The Forest of Essex. London,
Lindley. P. (1886-7) Walks in Epping Forest. 3rd Edn. London.
Morant, Rev. P. (1763-8) The History and Antiquities of the County of Essex (Repr. 1978).
Rackham. O. (1986) The History of the Countryside. Dent.
Reaney. P. H. (1969) The Place Names of Essex Cambridge
Stubbs A. and Chandler, P (Eds.) A Dipterists' Handbook. The Amateur Entomologist. Vol. 15. (A.E.S.).
Tubbs, C. R. (1986) The New Forest. Collins.
Mineral Extraction
Epping Forest has never had the valuable mineral deposits, for example iron ore. coal and tin. that
were exploited in Forests such as Dean and Dartmoor. Epping does, however, have three useful items
which in the past have been worked: clay, sand and gravel. Gravel has been the most extensively
worked of these and was particularly important during the 18th and 19th centuries, being used in the
construction and maintenance of roads.
Epping Forest is underlain by London Clay, Claygate Beds and Bagshot Sands, upon which are
found a number of superficial drift deposits, including Boulder Clay and gravel deposits of different
origins. It is in the latter deposits that the gravel workings are found. In the north part of the Forest,
in the vicinity of the Wake Anns (now the 'City Limits') are found deposits of Pebble Gravel, thought
to be fluvial in origin and deposited by a tributary of a proto-Thames (Layton. 1986). Further south,
between Buckhurst Hill and Walthamstow Forest, occur localised deposits of gravel thought to be
glacial in origin. In the metropolitan part of Epping Forest, are found sandy gravels, fluvial in origin,
being terrace deposits of the River Thames. These deposits have given rise to the 'Flats' of southern
Epping Forest. Wanstead Flats is situated on the Taplow Terrace, and Leyton Flats on the Boyn Hill
Terrace.
Gravel
In the 17th century, the repair of local roads fell on the local parishioners who were statutorily
compelled to provide the necessary labour and cartage. People often refused to work and this led to
the roads being in a bad state of repair and thus the first Turnpike Acts were passed for the better repair
and maintenance of roads. Justices of the Peace became empowered to appoint surveyors for each
32