Soldier beetles under fire

The results of a new study carried out by Natural England in collaboration with Buglife, reveals that 15% of Britain’s soldier beetles and allied species are now sufficiently endangered to join a new “red list” of species under greatest threat of extinction.

The ‘Review of the scarce and threatened beetles of Great Britain’ published last week assesses the conservation status of soldier beetles and their allies, named after their often bright colours which reflect the bright red jackets once worn by soldiers.  It classifies them as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered to determine ‘red list’ species under greatest threat of extinction.

The review found that out of the 114 soldier beetle and allied species:

Five (4%) are considered extinct in Britain

Eight (7%) are considered either ‘Critically Endangered’, ‘Endangered’ or ‘Vulnerable’, and are thus under some threat of becoming extinct in the near future. These include the Jewel Beetle (Aphanisticus emarginatus), whose larvae tunnel inside rushes, and has probably suffered from changes in agricultural practices, and Cosnard’s net-winged beetle (Erotides cosnardi) who, alongside six other beetles, require ancient oaks and beech trees in parklands and wood-pastures.

Five (4%) are near threatened, in that they do not meet all the criteria but are still of some concern.

The review is the first to be published under the Species Status project, which is taking on the mantle of the Species Status Assessment project - initiated by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) in 1999 - which ended in 2008 after producing 15 reports.  It seeks to continue the assessment of species in the UK to provide an up-to-date threat status of taxa or families, against standard criteria based on the internationally accepted guidelines developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).   Natural England is hoping that within five years, over 20,000 insect species will be reviewed as part of the Assessment project’s work.

Natural England’s Senior Entomologist, Jon Webb said: “Knowing the conservation status of a species is critical to its conservation.  This red list is invaluable as an up-to-date indication of which of these beetles is under threat of extinction in Britain. It is the beginning of an on-going process which will enable us to target resource at species in greatest need.”

Steven Falk, Entomologist at Buglife said: “The recent State of Nature Report showed that at least two out of three species of British wildlife are declining, and we know that many species of invertebrate have already become extinct in Britain such as the Short-haired Bumblebee. These reports will put a strong spotlight on those species that will become extinct over the next few decades unless we take positive action.”

The review can be found on Natural England’s publications catalogue: NECR134 - A review of the scarce and threatened beetles of Great Britain.