Crustacea: Copepoda - Cerambycoidea.com

years; adults feed on fruit and sap and fly mainly in evening. Distribution centred on
the Thames, Solent and Severn Basins.
Dorcus parallelepipedus (L.)* - Lesser Stag Beetle. Larvae develop in heartwood of various
broad-leave trees where it is being decayed by a white-rot fungus. Flies on summer
evenings and attracted to light.
Sinodendron cylindricum (L.)* - Rhinoceros Beetle. Bores in dead heartwood of large broadleaved
trees, and also pine Pinus, including stumps. Larval development takes 2-3
years, burrowing even into quite hard timber. Particularly associated with ancient
woodlands and wood pastures, although apparently not confined to them. Reported
from floating timber in both freshwater and seawater. Widespread in Britain &
Ireland. Flies in daylight in early summer.
Platycerus caraboides (Linnaeus) – Extinct. Fossil evidence for presence in Britain up until
Bronze Age in E.Yorks. Reports of specimens up until 1830; Oxford & Windsor.
Scarabaeidae
Saprosites mendax Blackburn – Naturalised. Australian introduction; in borings of Dorcus
and Sinodendron beetles.
Oxythyrea funesta (Poda) - Status unclear. 19 th C records from the north-west, regarded as
casuals; also one found in decaying beech stump in the New Forest in 2000.
Trichius fasciatus (L.) - Bee Chafer. Develops in wood mould of decayed heartwood in large
birch Betula stumps; prefers mixed broad-leaved woods in river valleys; adults feed
on pollen on tall flowering herbs, flying in daylight.
Trichius zonatus Germar – Vagrant. Doubtfully native; occasional records.
Gnorimus nobilis (L.) - The Noble Chafer. RDB2 & BAP Priority Species. The larvae
develop in decaying wood deep within hollowing old trees, feeding on relatively hard
wood with their stout mandibles. At least two years are spent in the larval stage. The
full-grown larvae stop feeding in the autumn and pupate the following May,
hollowing out a space for this purpose among frass and wood fragments. Adults
appear in late May or June but spend most of their time below the surface among frass
and wood fragments. They apparently mate while buried and eggs are laid at random.
The favoured trees in Britain appear to be oak Quercus, willow Salix and orchard
trees – plum and cherry Prunus, pear Pyrus, apple Malus, although beech Fagus and
false acacia Robinia are also used on the continent. The trees need to be open grown
individuals, so that the decaying wood maintains a suitable temperature and humidity.
The requirement for open grown trees explains why the species is better known from
orchard trees within its old forest strongholds. The adult beetles are reported to be
attracted to blossom, favouring white or pale colours such as hogweed Heracleum,
dog rose Rosa, elder Sambucus, etc, and fly on sunny days during June to August. A
speciality of relict old forest areas along the lower Thames, Severn and Solent Basins.
Gnorimus variabilis (L.) - RDB1 & BAP Grouped Species Statement. Larvae at interface
of hard oak Quercus heartwood with moist decayed interior red-rot; 2-3 year
development; adults in larval habitat May-July, and at large on bark or in flight July.
Buprestidae - Jewel Beetles or Metallic Wood-borers
Melanophila acuminata (Degeer) - Fire Beetle. Larvae feed in and under bark of scorched
and burnt conifers; also recorded from burnt birch Betula; adults oviposit on very
recently burnt and scorched trees, and fly great distances to forest fires. Ascot district
only in GB. Assumed to be an established exotic, although the evidence for this is
unclear.
Anthaxia nitidula (L.) – Extinct. Larvae under bark of blackthorn Prunus spinosa and other
woody Rosaceae; adults frequent flowers of hawthorn Crataegus, guelder rose
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