saproxylic beetles in Britain, an overview of the status and ...

Proceedings of the second pan-European conference onSaproxylic BeetlesSaproxylic beetles in Britain, an overviewof the status and distribution of fourBiodiversity Action Plan species.Matt N. Smith, Consultant Ecologist, 24 Allnatt Avenue, Winnersh,Berkshire, RG41 5AU, UK.Although there are some 700 species of saproxylic beetle found inmainland Britain (Alexander, 2002), this presentation aims to providean overview of the UK status and distribution of the four speciesthat are the main subject of this conference. These are the stagbeetle Lucanus cervus, the violet click beetle Limoniscus violaceus, thevariable chafer Gnorimus variabilis and the noble chafer G. nobilis. Thestag beetle and the violet click beetle are to be considered onlybriefly as these species are the subject of further presentations byother delegates, the two species of Gnorimus are discussed in moredetail. In the UK, all of these beetles are on the north-western edgeof their European range, and all are included in the UK BiodiversityAction Plan (UK BAP).The four species receive varying amounts of protection undercurrent UK legislation. The stag beetle receives partial protection,with collection of the species for sale and/or exchange prohibited.The violet click beetle is fully protected, with capture, killing or theoffering for sale or exchange of the species prohibited. Protectionalso extends to the beetle’s habitat; it is an offence to damage ordestroy a breeding site for the species. Because of this, anyconservation or survey work likely to result in the disturbance of thespecies requires a licence from English Nature. Neither species ofFig. 1.UK distribution of thestag beetle Lucanuscervus, PTES 1998survey data.Resolution 10kmsquare.there are some records from south Wales and the north-west of thecountry. During 2002 PTES will be repeating the survey in the hopethat any changes is distribution will become apparent.The violet click beetle has a very limited UK distribution (FigureTable 1 UK conservation status and legal protection for selected saproxylicspecies.SPECIES UK STATUS UK LEGAL STATUSStag Beetle Nationally Scarce Partially ProtectedLucanus cervus (Notable B) (Sale & Exchange only)Violet Click Beetle Endangered Fully ProtectedLimoniscus violaceus (RDB 1)Variable Chafer Endangered NoneGnorimus variabilis (RDB 1)Noble Chafer Vulnerable NoneGnorimus nobilis (RDB 2)Gnorimus receives any statutory protection under UK legislation.Table 1 provides a summary of the current status for the fourspecies.The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) are the ‘LeadPartner’ for the stag beetle BAP. A Lead Partner is the individual ororganisation that manages a BAP in conjunction with otherorganisations such as English Nature. In 1998, PTES organised the‘Great Stag Hunt’. This survey asked members of the public toreport any sightings of stag beetles to PTES in order to collectcurrent distribution data for the species. The survey was verysuccessful, with nearly 10,000 records being received. As can be seenfrom the resulting distribution map (Figure 1), in the UK the stagbeetle is broadly restricted to the south-east of England, althoughFig. 2.UK distribution of theViolet Click BeetleLimoniscus violaceus.Resolution 10ksquare.2). First recorded from Windsor Forest in 1937 when a single adultwas found in a fallen Beech trunk (Allen, 1937), the species is todaystill very scarce andcurrently only known fromthree UK localities.Of the four species underconsideration here, thespecies with the mostrestricted UK distribution isthe variable chafer Gnorimusvariabilis (pictured right).There© People’s Trust for Endangered Species, 2003 All rights reserved. Extracts of this publication can be taken for non-commercial, in-house use, subject to the sourcebeing acknowledged. Registered Address: PTES, 15 Cloisters House, 8 Battersea Park Road, London SW8 4BG, UK.Tel: +44 (0)20 7498 4533 email: enquiries@ptes.org web:www.ptes.org1