Rare and endangered Stag beetle thriving in London
04/10/2006 00:00:00
How to spot a stag beetle
- You are most likely to find a stag beetle near or on dead wood
- It’s between 5cm and 8cm long
- It’s got large antler shaped jaws
- The male’s jaws are very large
- The female’s jaws are smaller but more powerful
- Adults emerge from the soil beneath logs or tree stumps from mid-May til late July
- Males emerge are seen flying on sultry summer evenings an hour or two before dusk
New figures show the nationally endangered stag beetle - Britain’s largest ground-living beetle – is holding on in London. Results released today from the London Wildlife Trust’s London Stag Beetle Survey 2005 revealed 835 sightings of this rare species in the capital. The survey found the London stag beetle population is concentrated in south London with some clusters in the outer east and west London boroughs and only a few sightings recorded in north London. Bromley was the borough with the most stag beetles with 222 recorded sightings, followed by Croydon with 96 and Lewisham with 92. The majority of sightings were in private gardens. London Wildlife Trust is urging even more Londoners to start stag beetle spotting this year and take part in the 2006 survey by logging on to
www.wildlondon.org.uk. Jenny Scholfield, conservation manager for London Wildlife Trust, says, ‘We are delighted that so many people let us know about seeing stag beetles in London last summer. We are beginning to understand where stag beetles are flourishing and where they are doing less well in the capital. With this information, we can help improve stag beetle habitats across London and help protect this fascinating creature for the future. Apart from being magnificent insects, stag beetles are harmless and an important part of London’s natural environment, helping to return the minerals of dead plant material to the soil. We need as many people as possible to let us know if they spot any stag beetles this summer. endangered stag beetle has rapidly declined across the UK as a result of the loss of dead wood from parks and woodland. Stag beetle larvae live in dead wood for up to seven years while they are maturing. It is believed that the current vogue for ‘tidying up’ of woodlands and parks is a prime reason for the stag beetle’s decline. In urban areas traffic, feet, cats and other predators also have a detrimental impact.
Interestingly, while the stag beetle is globally endangered, Bromley, Croydon and Lewisham are hotspots in London for the creature. More research needs to be done to work out why these boroughs are supporting such a proportionally large stag beetle population and why north London supports relatively few stag beetles.
START STAG BEETLE SPOTTING IN LONDON
How to take part in the survey: Log on to
www.wildlondon.org.uk and enter your sightings in the London Stag Beetle Hunt Survey.
How to create a log pile in your garden to help stag beetles
• A stag beetle needs dead wood to complete its lifecycle. By creating a log pile in your garden, you are providing just the right habitat to help stag beetles. They like all sorts of wood, especially oak but also ash, elm, sycamore, lime, hornbeam, apple, cherry and even some garden trees varieties.
How to create a LoggeryLarge logs (10-50cm diameter) of hardwood (e.g. oak, beech, sycamore, ash) with bark still attached sunk 60cm into the ground, in partially shaded areas.
• Stag beetles lay eggs underground by logs or stumps of dead trees and the larva (or grub) will spend up to SEVEN YEARS inside slowly growing in size. The larvae don’t eat the wood of live trees and shrubs and so are not a pest. Rather, they are an important decay agent, helping to return the minerals of dead plant material to the soil. Courtesy of the London Wildlife Trust.
