Whitlaw Bank to Hardies Hill

Also within

Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale County

Condition (NatureScot)

Description

Whitlaw Bank to Hardies Hill Whitlaw Bank to Hardies Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is located on the southern outskirts of Hawick, on the disused Waverley Line, and has been physically split into two parts by the B6399 since the removal of the old connecting railway bridge, the Slitrig Viaduct. The site is of interest for the dry grasslands, flushed grasslands and rock-cuttings associated with the abandoned railway. These habitats support a particularly diverse flora and invertebrate fauna which include regional and national rarities The grasslands support a colony of the rare small blue butterfly Cupido minimus which relies on kidney vetch Anthyllis vulneraria as the food plant for its larvae. The rare soldier fly Oxycera dives is found in and around the partially shaded mossy seepages, wet rock faces and flushed grassland present on the site. The ecological significance is enhanced by the juxtaposition of native woodland and riverside to the site. Small blue (Cupido minimus) Soldier fly (Oxycera dives)

Species mentioned

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.

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.