Letter: Ant attack

IT IS heartening to read that the National Trust for Scotland has discovered the northernmost colony of hairy wood ant (your report, 29 April) and is committed to ensuring its survival.

However, there is another, even rarer, species of ant - the narrow-headed wood ant - that has the misfortune of locating its most northerly colony within a native pinewood in the Cairngorms National Park. Misfortune because the park authority, careless of its biodiversity duties, has allocated much of this pinewood, near Carrbridge, to a large housing estate in its recent local plan, contrary to the recommendations of an inquiry.

ROY TURNBULL

Torniscar

Nethy Bridge,

Inverness-shire