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66 Brock & Allen
[The Coleopterist 31(2): 66-91, September 2022]
An overview of Coleoptera of the New Forest,
Hampshire
Paul D. Brock¹ & A.J. Allen²
¹ 2 Greenways Road, Brockenhurst, Hampshire SO42 7RN; pauldbrock@btinternet.com
² 56 Windsor Way, Fordingbridge, Hampshire SP6 3BN; allentonyallen@aol.com
Introduction
Many coleopterists are familiar with the New Forest in Hampshire. Even if they have
not visited, coleopterists are aware of its reputation as a premier site for saproxylic
beetles, along with Windsor Forest and Windsor Great Park in Berkshire. It is widely
regarded as being of exceptional importance for nature conservation throughout
Europe. It is not surprising that rediscoveries of considerable rarities are periodically
made, for example Sitaris muralis (Forster) in 2010 (Brock, 2010), Pedostrangalia
revestita (Linnaeus) found on 30 June 2013 by Peter Wilson (pers. comm., 2013) and
even species new to science like Corticaria horreum Allen, Telfer & Rücker (2021).
These notes are intended as an overview of the New Forest, its beetle fauna and the
coleopterists who have added to our knowledge. Although there has not been a book or
extensive paper on New Forest beetles, useful references include a book on New
Forest insects (Brock, 2011) which estimated that 2,600 beetles are found in the New
Forest, representing 65% of the UK’s 4,000 plus species. This includes an impressive
range of saproxylic beetles discussed by Alexander (2010), who states that there are
598 British species included in the full SQI list, with 326 in the Forest (55%), a figure
surpassed only by Windsor, with 364 species (61%).
The New Forest National Park
The New Forest has a long history. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William I in
about 1079 and was used for royal hunts, mainly for deer. Later it became important
for the production of timber for Royal naval boats and plantations of oak were
established for this in the 18th century. The New Forest National Park was formed in
2005 and extends over 57,100 ha. It is mainly in south-west Hampshire with a smaller
area in south-east Wiltshire. We have used this vast National Park (Fig. 1) as the area
for this account, with its ancient woodlands, extensive heathlands, and other habitats,
occurring in a complex mosaic. Much of the National Park is a designated Special
Area of Conservation (SAC). The website (https://sac.jncc.gov.uk/site/UK0012557)
gives information on the habitats that are a primary reason for the selection. There are
also areas of SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) status within its boundaries.
Much of the Crown land is managed by Forestry England, although other land is
managed by the National Trust e.g. Northern Commons, including Ibsley and
Rockford Commons, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust e.g. Roydon Woods
Nature Reserve, near Brockenhurst, Hampshire County Council and private
landowners. The Court of Verderers manage the traditional activity of commoning –
people living in properties with ‘commoners rights’, allowing them to let their ponies,
An overview of Coleoptera in the New Forest 67
[The Coleopterist 31(2): 66-91, September 2022]
donkeys, cattle and pigs roam free, except in the fenced-off areas, known as
Inclosures. By way of example, Denny Wood with its occasional ancient and
ornamental woodland is commonly frequented by deer and commoners’ stock, unlike
the fenced-off adjoining Denny Lodge Inclosure, although deer are present. The
vegetation therefore differs in these locatities although the whole area is regarded as
one of the top entomological sites in Britain.
Fig. 1 Boundary map of the New Forest National Park (source New Forest National Park
Authority).
The early collectors
Two important multi-volume works on British beetles were published in the 19th
century. Stephens (1828-32) and Fowler (1887-1891) both listed localities and there
are many references to the New Forest, a lot of them are for saproxylic species but also
for heathland and water beetle species. Phillips (1876) encountered ‘the great beetle
hunter’ Charles Turner on his rambles. As for the beetles, he mentions Carabus nitens
Linnaeus, Lucanus cervus (Linnaeus) and others. When Fowler & Walker (1900)
wrote the Coleoptera section of the Victoria County History they commented “No
county, however, can furnish a longer record of rare species. This is, of course, in
great measure due to the fact that Hampshire includes the New Forest….The New
68 Brock & Allen
[The Coleopterist 31(2): 66-91, September 2022]
Forest has for long been known as the entomologist’s paradise.” There are references
to Mr Gorham, Mr Champion and Dr Sharp collecting beetles and that the ‘red’ Elaters
[Ampedus spp.] are much sought after by collectors in the Forest. One of the places
they visited was Ladycross (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 Ladycross, a site much visited by Victorian collectors. Photograph by PDB.
Collectors flocked to the New Forest by train from London and elsewhere, and
specimens were traded in hostelries in Lyndhurst and Brockenhurst. ‘Dealers’ such as
Bernard Piffard (1833-1916) from Ivy Cottage, Brockenhurst, advertised Coleoptera
for sale to visitors in 1902 (Fig. 3); he also offered his services as a guide.
Coleopterists sometimes used to astonish passers-by with collecting techniques,
including pulling apart and examining cowpats for beetles (Brock, 2011). Piffard
founded the ‘New Forest Natural History Society’ at Brockenhurst. Alas, his
substantial beetle and other collections did not include meaningful data and in an
obituary, it is stated that he ‘contributed little or nothing to scientific literature’.
Fig. 3 Advertisement by Piffard in the Entomologist's Record & Journal of Variation, 1902.
An overview of Coleoptera in the New Forest 69
[The Coleopterist 31(2): 66-91, September 2022]
David Sharp (1840-1922) first mentions the New Forest in a note (1869). There are
many more, especially after 1909, when he retired as Curator of Insects in the
University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge and moved to Brockenhurst. Best known
as a coleopterist, many of his specimens are in the Natural History Museum, London.
For a comprehensive list of Sharp’s numerous described species and references, see
Fery (2013). C.G. Lamb (1861-1941) discovered Corticaria lambiana Sharp, 1910
(now in Corticarina) on an oak tree in the New Forest in 1908, the species being
named by Sharp in his honour. This species is listed as ‘very local’ in S. England
(Duff, 2020).
There must be very few British coleopterists who have not visited the New Forest!
The biographical dictionary compiled by Michael Darby (www.coleoptera.org.uk/
biographical-dictionary) is a useful resource and includes specific reference to a
number of coleopterists collecting in or visiting the New Forest, including many well-
known 19th century/early 20th century collectors (see also Darby, 2022). Some of these
were ‘professional’ collectors, others may have published brief accounts, or their
specimens are now in museum collections. Other than Sharp, those living in the area
included F.C. Adams (1836-1920) who was best known as a dipterist, who lived in
Lyndhurst, also in London; G.J. Gulliver (1852-1931) lived in Brockenhurst and F.H.
Haines (1864-1946), was a keen naturalist who moved to Linwood after retirement in
1923. He published much in the Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and
Archaeological Society usually under the title of ‘Insects in Hampshire, [and the year]’
and usually from the Linwood neighbourhood. K.G. Blair (1882-1952) retired to
nearby Freshwater, Isle of Wight in 1943 and his beetle collection is housed by the
Hampshire Cultural Trust, including much New Forest material. They were not alone;
other entomologists specialising mainly in Lepidoptera resided in the New Forest.
George C. Champion (1851-1927), one of the foremost British coleopterists, made
many collecting trips to the New Forest, his first in July 1869 (Champion, 1870), and
his captures made notes to the entomological journals. In one of these (Champion,
1873) he says that in a fortnight’s stay, ‘I could not come across any oaks fit to work,
in spite of tramping many miles’ and ‘felled trees are not left about for years on the
ground (the woodmen tell me) as they used to be, some years back, in Turner’s time’.
Despite this the species listed in the rest of the note are impressive. J.J. Walker
accompanied Champion on many of his trips, and collected extensively in the Forest.
Other regulars included A.M. Massee (1899-1967) who found Lagria atripes
Mulsant & Guillebeau (Tenebrionidae) (Allen, 1982) and P. Harwood (1881/82-1957)
who made numerous visits.
Other visitors sometimes published details of species collected. These include a
long list by W. Farren from Cambridge (Farren, 1862), a list by A.J. Chitty (Chitty,
1892) and C. Morley and A.E. Elliott wrote a note about a visit to the New Forest
(Morley & Elliott, 1895) in which they wrote, ‘the best insect we took, and the one for
which the excursion was principally made was Anthaxia nitidula’.
Horace St. J.K. Donisthorpe (1870-1951) was a well-known coleopterist and
myrmecologist, who frequented the likes of Matley Bog (Fig. 5). There is a notebook
handwritten by Donisthorpe in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History
70 Brock & Allen
[The Coleopterist 31(2): 66-91, September 2022]
entitled ‘Coleoptera of the New Forest’ (Fig. 4) in which he records all his finds. The
first page includes ‘This book was started in 1892. Index made May 1922. Sent to J.J.
Walker who added his captures June 1922’.
Fig. 4 First page of Donisthorpe’s book of New Forest captures. Photograph by D.J. Mann.
R.W. Lloyd commented in a note (Lloyd, 1951) ‘…he would only put in his
collection beetles he had taken with his own hands. Luckily for him he was a man of
leisure and he was able to go about the country when he heard of any rare beetles
being taken. It led, however, to some curious results, as on a celebrated occasion when
a collector in the New Forest got a very rare beetle - Velleius [i.e. Quedius (Velleius)
dilatatus (Fabricius)] I believe it was - and advised Mr Donisthorpe, who telegraphed
him to put a tumbler over it on the ground and keep it there until he was able to go and
collect it himself.’
An overview of Coleoptera in the New Forest 71
[The Coleopterist 31(2): 66-91, September 2022]
Fig. 5 Matley Bog, looking north from the B3056. Photograph by PDB.
More recent recording
Where better to start this section than with David M. Appleton (1944-2006), a keen
Hampshire coleopterist, active in the New Forest and elsewhere, and often working
with G.R. Else and R.J. Dickson. There are two obituaries in entomological journals:
Else & Dickson (2007) and (Dickson, 2007). Appleton is well known for his paper on
scarcer Coleoptera in Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1964-2001 (Appleton, 2004). He
also produced a list of ‘Coleoptera of the New Forest A & O Woodlands’ in a letter to
Mike Bryant, dated 21 March 1971 [Bryant was primarily a botanist, also a good
ornithologist], and copied out by Else on 9-10 April 1971. This has been circulated to
interested entomologists and includes comments on scarce species, some omitted from
his 2004 paper. Appleton wrote, ‘the list is the result of my own collecting over the
last five or six years…..All the woods studied in the Lyndhurst-Brockenhurst area are
exceedingly rich in both species and numbers. The woods are: Mallard Wood, Matley
Wood, Pig Bush, Denny Wood, Hollands Wood, Whitley Wood, Allum Green,
Rushpole Wood, Mark Ash, Queen Bower-Brock[enhurst]-Lyndhurst Rd. and area
near Ramnor Marl Pits at Balmer Lawn.’ This still holds true today, although there are,
of course, many woodlands elsewhere where one can find a wide range of beetles.
Appleton refers to other important finds in the New Forest by A.E. Gardner, S.A.
Williams, and P. Cook, in a list compiled by Gardner and Williams. Comments follow
by Richard Dickson (pers. comm. to PDB December 2021, supplemented by George
Else): “David was very short-sighted, which was an advantage when looking at very
small beetles. However, one night he was out with the moth-ers at night in an area
72 Brock & Allen
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where sand and gravel had been extracted. He wandered off searching for ground-
beetles using his bicycle front lamp as a torch. He returned covered in yellow mud
(including the lamp). He had seen a sign, and being very short-sighted, went over to it
to see what it said. It said, “Danger – quicksand.” One day he was returning from the
Forest on the bus and couldn’t resist taking a peek at his prize capture. Unwisely, he
removed the cork for a better view and the beetle shot out. He then searched the bus, if
I remember correctly with some help from other passengers, and eventually recovered
it. With the same perseverance he once searched for an aedeagus, which had been
catapulted by a sprung pin onto his carpet, (which had not been cleaned in a good
while) – to anyone else, a hopeless task. But he got it! He took Prof. John Owen to the
Forest, who wanted to find Gnorimus nobilis (Linnaeus). David brought a bouquet of
umbellifers and set them up in his favourite spot. When they returned later, the Prof.
rushed over to it, only to turn back in disappointment. David shook the bouquet over a
sheet, and two noble chafers fell out.”
Anthony A. Allen (1915-2010), who wrote over 800 notes and articles on British
beetles, visited the Forest and published a few of his findings e.g. (Allen, 1995).
The unpublished New Forest Coleoptera list, produced by A. Eric Gardner (1913-
1976) and S. Alex Williams (1933-2021) mentioned above, was used in the Harding
(1978) and Alexander (2010) overviews on saproxylic beetles in the New Forest but is
apparently now lost (R. Colin Welch, pers. comm. to PDB, October 2020). Gardner
was a Surrey collector, Editor and Assistant Editor of the Entomologist’s Gazette and a
curator of the collections of the British Entomological and Natural History Society. A
good coleopterist, he also worked through the early stages of Odonata, rearing most
species from the egg. Appleton commented that Gardner was a chain smoker with a
ferocious cough. He would leave a long projection of ash on the end of his cigarette,
stuck to his projecting lower lip, and which would shed ash, so that the specimens he
worked over were covered with a fine film of it. Late one autumn they were in the
New Forest when Eric found a large portion of a hornet’s nest out on the ground.
Thinking that it would have been dug out e.g. by badgers and therefore devoid of life
he dived in eagerly, hoping that beetles remained. When Eric excavated the active nest
he worked at it, breaking open the combs oblivious to the hornets which stung him on
the top of his bald head as he bent over the remains. He had to sit down because he felt
most peculiar (Richard Dickson and George Else, pers. comm. to PDB, December
2021). S.A. Williams from Faversham, Kent, was a collector, and authority on
Staphylinidae, he wrote a number of notes about rare species collected by him in the
New Forest including Quedius dilatatus.
There have been initiatives to record the status of the beetle fauna and add mass
records. The Invertebrate Site Register includes numerous typed or handwritten reports
of invertebrates from sites by specialist recorders, including from the early 1980s, but
some historical, including the 1960s (Peachey, 1984). Apart from Denny Wood and
Mallard Wood, Coleoptera do not feature strongly. Most records are by R.C. Welch,
others by A.M. Massee and M.G. Morris and these notes are widely used by ecologists
for information on rarities and for conservation purposes.
An overview of Coleoptera in the New Forest 73
[The Coleopterist 31(2): 66-91, September 2022]
The European Commission’s LIFE II New Forest Coleoptera survey was
undertaken in 1999 and 2000, involving collecting in various locations in May and
September, by a team of coleopterists from various parts of the UK, including
specialists in particular families (A.J. Allen, Roger G. Booth, D.C. Boyce, Martin J.
Collier, Michael D. Darby, Jonty S. Denton, A.B. Drane, D.G. Goddard (1947-2000),
Peter M. Hammond (1941-2021), David Hance, N.F. Heal, D. Ian B. Hoare, Peter J.
Hodge, B. Levey, Derek A. Lott (1953-2011), Martin L. Luff, I.S. Menzies (1929-
2008), M.G. Morris, A.J. Parsons, P.M. Pavett, Michael A. Salmon (1935-2018), Mark
G. Telfer and R. Colin Welch). This was the last major initiative to increase records
and added numerous records and species.
Various collectors and recorders have added to our knowledge since then by
supplying records to the relevant recording schemes. Richard J. Dickson and George
R. Else (sometimes assisted by Keith Wheeler) have particularly concentrated on
Denny Wood over most of these and previous years during a long-term survey of
insects. PDB (since 2008), AJA and many others have recorded beetles at Denny
Wood and various other sites. John Wilson has visited on holiday from Leeds almost
every year since 1962 (after seeing a book by Fowler in a Leeds library, which stated
that areas near Brockenhurst were strongholds for many of our beetles) to observe but
not collect beetles, eventually finding his first Gnorimus nobilis in Pondhead, 1 July
2011. John has sciatica and rests up every so often when he visits the New Forest
woodlands. Two women walking a dog saw him in Ramnor Inclosure in 2015 lying
flat on his back and were convinced he was dead, until the ‘corpse’ moved! Another
story concerns his first Leptura aurulenta Fabricius in Denny Wood on 18 July 1993.
Having recognised it as a rarity, he telephoned the Forestry Commission and three or
four vehicles soon descended on his tent in Hollands Wood to see it for themselves
before it was released!
Several rarities have been recorded during the Natural History Museum’s long-
term soil biodiversity project at Whitley Wood (see below), which commenced in
2002.
A Balfour-Browne Club Meeting looking for water beetles was held in April 1999.
As well as these contributions there have been a number of other surveys and
conservation projects of specialised habitats and single-species which are listed in the
species sections.
In compiling a list of noteworthy beetles we have divided them into three sections:
saproxylic beetles, water beetles in the widest sense and others. British rarity statuses
and IUCN threat statuses are as in Lane, Drewitt & Allen (2019), Lane & Drewitt,
(2020) and Boyce (2022). Where more recent reviews are not yet available the statuses
are from Hyman (1992, 1994). We have used the abbreviations explained in Lane,
Drewitt & Allen (2019) and Hyman (1992).
Saproxylic Coleoptera in the New Forest
With its large area of mature broadleaved woodland, mostly oak and beech, the New
Forest has long been known for its saproxylics. Many woodlands within the New
74 Brock & Allen
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Forest are productive for beetles, not just the better known ancient and ornamental
Woodlands, such as Denny Wood (Fig. 6).
The Saproxylic Quality Index (SQI) https://khepri.uk/ (Fowles, Alexander & Key,
1999) is a useful online resource for researchers. This scoring system assists the
evaluation of the conservation habitat of woodlands for saproxylic Coleoptera.
Whilst the assessments are not entirely up to date, i.e. do not reflect recent
additions to the beetle fauna or changes in conservation statuses following reviews,
this shows the New Forest in top spot with an SQI of 857.1. Windsor Forest has 850.0.
The New Forest figures are based on a data source of Gardner, Williams et al.
compiled by R. Colin Welch 1982, plus records from LIFE Coleoptera meetings in
1999 and 2000. Windsor records are by J.A. Owen (1998 unpublished) and benefit
from Donisthorpe (1939).
Selecting ‘New Forest, South Hampshire’ leads to a list of species with SQI score,
which can be copied and pasted into a Microsoft Word file.
Our list of Red List species concentrates on those with records since 1980; other
Red List saproxylics are listed in tables 1 and 2 under ‘Extinctions’ and ‘Species not
recorded since 1980’.
Fig. 6 Denny Wood at blossom time. Photograph by PDB.
HISTERIDAE
Epierus comptus Erichson NT NR. David Nash added this to the British list from a
specimen found in 1980 in Grovely Wood near Salisbury, Wiltshire. The first records in the
New Forest were from Mark Ash Wood in September 1999 [LIFE II] (Drane & Lott, 2001).
An overview of Coleoptera in the New Forest 75
[The Coleopterist 31(2): 66-91, September 2022]
Also recorded in the New Forest from Broom Hill in 2014 and by AJA at Warwick Slade in
April 2022. Found under bark or in dead wood (beech) in the Lyndhurst area. April to October.
PTILIIDAE
Ptenidium turgidum Thomson RDBK. Recorded from various Forest woods in May and
September 1999, including Denny [LIFE II] and with a number of records since then including
Mallard and Whitley Woods. Larvae develop inside trunks of old broadleaf trees. Adults
recorded April to December.
STAPHYLINIDAE
Eutheia formicetorum Reitter RDB1. Recorded in Whitley Wood, a single specimen from
leaf litter in July 2003, as part of the Natural History Museum’s long-term soil biodiversity
project (Giusti, 2007), previous record 1964. Usually found under bark of dead wood (beech).
Gyrophaena munsteri Strand RDBK. Last recorded from Bramshaw, 20 May 1999 by R.G.
Booth [LIFE II]. In fruiting bodies of fungi. May and September to November.
Gyrophaena pulchella Heer RDBK. Last recorded from Bramshaw, 16-19 September 1999
by R.G. Booth [LIFE II]. Associated with fungi. Usually found August to October.
Scydmaenus rufus Müller & Kunze RDB2. Recorded in various woods in May 1999 and
2000 [LIFE II]. No longer confined to saproxylic habitat – widespread in compost/dung heaps
etc. April to October.
Stenichnus godarti (Latreille) RDB3. Last recorded from Bramshaw Wood, 21 May 1999
by David Hance and at Millyford Green, 26 May 2000 by Norman Heal [LIFE II]. Larvae
develop under bark or in dead wood. Possible most of the year.
Trichonyx sulcicollis (Reichenbach) RDB2. Last recorded in 1981. Breeds in rotten stumps.
Possibly expanding its range across the south. May to August.
SCARABAEIDAE
Gnorimus nobilis (Linnaeus) VU NS. Always rare in the New Forest and adults seldom
recorded after a population was first discovered by G.C. Champion in 1894 (Alexander, 2010),
although occasionally seen on elder or hogweed flowers (including several times by PDB in
Lyndhurst and Brockenhurst surrounds when surveying for them in 2009-2010), sometimes
flying to and from flowers with Cetonia aurata (Linnaeus) from high up in trees. Although no
larvae have been found in rot-holes of suitable trees (old oaks?), the breeding area is extensive,
as evidenced by recording with pheromones in 2018 (People’s Trust for Endangered Species
(PTES) and a Buglife survey in the New Forest (2018 and ongoing by Deborah Harvey)),
indicating that adults may simply remain well hidden or high up except when occasionally
visiting flowers. Interim results for the Forest were communicated in Harvey et al. (2018). A
volunteer-run trial from 20 June to 5 July 2018 produced an astonishing 78 records compared
with only 20 confirmed records in the New Forest since 1894. A much earlier unpublished
survey was made by Matt Smith in 2000. In the New Forest, this species occurs in mid-June to
early July. Elsewhere in Britain, associated with traditional orchards.
EUCNEMIDAE
Eucnemis capucinus Ahrens RDB1. First British find near Brockenhurst by Sharp,
Champion and Gorham (Gorham, 1886), who commented ‘We have secured enough specimens
to supply most of the collections with a representative’. Many of Sharp’s early records were
from pupae found in old beech trees reared to adults. Photographed in Queen Bower 2 June
2011 on a birch log by PDB, previous record 1973. Mainly found on dead beech or ash but
rather elusive, with a few old records from Mallard Wood and others. June to August.
76 Brock & Allen
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Microrhagus pygmaeus (Fabricius) RDB3. Local in woodlands, on dead wood (beech or
oak), by beating oaks, sweeping grasses under oaks, AJA, or (H. Mendel, pers. comm.) ‘in my
experience most common by sweeping bracken beneath beech’. May to September.
Hylis cariniceps (Reitter) RDB1. Appleton (2004) found the first British specimen by
sweeping in Mallard Wood on 2 July 1966. Another was found at Withycombe Shade (Harrison,
2012) on 9 September 2010. An extremely rare species with only five British examples between
1966 and 2019, the other three from Somerset, Dorset and Berkshire.
ELATERIDAE
Ampedus cinnabarinus (Eschscholtz) RDB3. Widespread, found annually in several
woodlands, either on dead wood (often beech or oak) or nearby vegetation. May to June,
occasionally later.
Megapenthes lugens (Redtenbacher) RDB1. Found on hawthorn flowers in Denny Wood
by PDB, 23 May 2012, and since found by coleopterists in the same locality including AJA on
17 May 2018, also by George Else on dead wood 13 May 2022 and PDB on elder flowers, 3
June 2022. Previously recorded in 1971 in Mallard Wood, adding to records from Lyndhurst in
1915 and Ashurst in 1946 (x2) (Alexander, 2010). This species is particularly associated with
decaying heartwood of beech. More frequently recorded Windsor Forest. Usually in May.
Paraphotistus nigricornis (Panzer) RDB3. Widespread in woodlands between Brockenhurst
and Lyndhurst. Can be plentiful by beating oak in Whitley Wood and known from hawthorn at
Denny Wood. May to July also October to December. Usually found on vegetation in
woodlands.
Procraerus tibialis (Lacordaire) RDB3. Recorded in Denny Wood, 27 May 2021 by PDB
and once by H. Mendel. Other records include several from Mallard Wood by H. Mendel and a
larva from there, 16 September 1999 by B. Levey [LIFE II]. This species can be elusive, usually
seen resting on rotten wood (beech or oak), or nearby vegetation, or hawthorn blossom. Possible
all year.
EROTYLIDAE
Triplax lacordairii Crotch RDB3. A 2014 survey for the Species Recovery Trust by M.G.
Telfer showed this is fairly widespread in New Forest woodlands in May to September,
associated with the fungus Pleurotus and other bracket fungi.
CRYPTOPHAGIDAE
Cryptophagus micaceus Rey RDBK. Last recorded 1985.
MELANDRYIDAE
Melandrya barbata (Fabricius) VU NR. Reported from Denny Lodge on 31 May 1992 and
Whitley Wood in 1990 and on 2 June 1993, but a rare species since being discovered in the New
Forest in 1823 and thought to be nocturnal. Associated with standing or felled beech and oak
trees. The commoner relative, the formerly Nationally Scarce Melandrya caraboides (Linnaeus),
has in recent years reduced in numbers in the Forest and is now seldom observed. It used to be
seen regularly in some sites by day, for example in May 2002 and 2004 at Denny by AJA and
almost annually up to 2018 by PDB.
OEDEMERIDAE
Ischnomera caerulea (Linnaeus) NR. Last recorded May 1999 from various woodlands
[LIFE II]. Larvae develop in heartwood of elm and other woods. Adults are attracted to
hawthorn blossom. April to June.
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CERAMBYCIDAE
Anoplodera sexguttata (Fabricius) NT NR. Found annually in several woodlands (well
known in Denny Wood) breeding in oak in its New Forest stronghold. Although sometimes in
large numbers, adults may only be out for a brief period and occasionally visit flowers,
including hawthorn and bramble. May to June.
Grammoptera ustulata (Schaller) NR. Various historic records from a wide part of the New
Forest; elusive although there are three records from different sites in May 21-28 1999 - 2000
[LIFE II]. On hawthorn flowers in May to June.
Pedostrangalia revestita (Linnaeus) EN NR. Recorded in Hollands Wood, 30 June 2013 by
Peter Wilson, previous record C. Gulliver, 1917. Associated with oak.
Stenurella nigra (Linnaeus) NR. Various historic records from several woods in the New
Forest up to 1989, but elusive. Found on dead wood, vegetation or flowers in late May to June.
Nationally Scarce species are numerous and include the familiar stag beetle. Notes on
a small selection of well-known species are given below:
LUCANIDAE
Lucanus cervus (Linnaeus) NS. More likely to be seen in New Forest villages, including
private gardens, where the larvae develop in moist decaying wood and are sometimes dug up by
gardeners. At dusk males are attracted to lights and the corpses are often seen by the roadsides
or as the remains of bird or animal predation. Males and females may lie upside down, or walk
on pavements, where they risk being trodden on by passers-by. Examination of sap runs on
Cossus cossus infected trees (often oaks) occasionally reveals a stag beetle attracted to the sap;
they may also show on dead wood or tree trunks in the open forest. Mainly recorded in June, but
occasional in May, July and August. The People’s Trust for Endangered Species has undertaken
detailed distribution surveys in Britain.
EUCNEMIDAE
Melasis buprestoides (Linnaeus) Nb. Occasional in woodlands, recorded in Denny Wood in
May 2004 by AJA and on 29 May 2021 by David Shute. All year.
ELATERIDAE
Ampedus elongatulus (Fabricius) Na, Ampedus quercicola (du Buysson) Nb, Ampedus
sanguinolentus (Schrank) Na. Brightly coloured red-and-black click beetles widespread in
woodlands particularly in May to July.
LYMEXYLIDAE
Lymexylon navale (Linnaeus) NS. Occasional in several woodlands. PDB found a pair on
an oak branch in Denny Wood, 17 July 2016. May to August.
ZOPHERIDAE
Colydium elongatum (Fabricius) NS. Occasional in several woodlands including Denny
Wood. March to December.
TENEBRIONIDAE
Diaperis boleti (Linnaeus) NS. Widespread on old birch bracket fungi in recent years. All
year, often in May to August.
CERAMBYCIDAE
Leptura aurulenta Fabricius NS. Widespread on beech or oak log piles, occasionally seen
in flight or visiting flowers. June to August.
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Mesosa nebulosa (Fabricius) NS. Seldom encountered, only recorded by PDB in New
Copse Inclosure, 25 July 2009. Beaten from oak by AJA near Brockenhurst, 14 June 2000 and
Warwick Slade, 7 May 2017, in four woodlands in 1999/2000 [LIFE II]. Usually May to July.
Paracorymbia fulva (De Geer) NS. Various sites on the outskirts of the New Forest,
including Canada Common by Colin Easton, 2 July 2020 and Fordingbridge by AJA, 25 June
1998. June to August.
Prionus coriarius (Linnaeus) NS. Widespread, sometimes seen in flight as well as on logs
or visiting moth traps or street lights. July to August.
Stenostola dubia (Laicharting) NS. Rare in the New Forest, mainly on lime trees. May to
July.
Stictoleptura scutellata (Fabricius) NS. Widespread on beech, occasionally on flowering
hawthorn. May to August.
Water beetles in the New Forest
Several streams cross the New Forest and there are mires and areas of wet heathland.
Tubbs (1986) stated that there are at least 329 ponds. Most of these come from human
activity since the 18th century. They include marl pits, clay pits, gravel pits, roadside
and railway borrow pits and bomb craters. They have a wide range of pH from near
alkaline to very acid. In April 1999 the Balfour-Browne Club held a meeting in the
Forest. A draft list of records was prepared and sent to attendees in October 1999. It
included eight Haliplus (Haliplidae), 59 species of Dytiscidae, 23 aquatic
Hydrophilidae and all of the water beetles discussed below as being of special interest.
The account below has greatly benefited from the Balfour-Browne Club database.
HALIPLIDAE
Haliplus variegatus Sturm NS. Although there are widespread records for England and
Wales this species is probably most plentiful in the New Forest, in stagnant water, usually over
peat. Found at a number of sites including Crockford Bridge (Fig. 7) and Balmer Lawn (Fig. 8).
All year.
DYTISCIDAE
Agabus brunneus (Fabricius) VU. Found in shallow, intermittent streams, often deep in the
gravel. This brown water beetle is rarely seen and mainly recorded around Linford Brook and
Widden Bottom. It is also known from streams in Dorset and West Cornwall. Only one beetle
was traced during fieldwork on a single-species survey in Roe Inclosure for the Forestry
Commission by PDB in September 2011, but many coleopterists have failed to find it. Except
for November and December, it has been recorded all year, most often in late August and
September.
Bidessus unistriatus (Goeze) CR. Foster & Carr (2008) gave a summary of the status of this
rare water beetle. It was found at Crockford Bridge during the Balfour-Browne Club meeting in
April 1999. Before this only one early New Forest record has been traced, 7 April 1909, Sway
Pits by David Sharp. In a considerable amount of survey work in the Forest in 2005, 2006 and
2007 it was only found at one pond of the Crockford Bridge marlpit complex. Shallow margins
in the edge of the pond are created by poaching from ponies; the usual survey methodology is to
wait for these tiny beetles to rise to the surface in sunny weather, in order to renew their air
supply. AJA found several in March 2000 but has not seen it since despite six visits to the same
site between 2004 and 2012. Although not recorded during a 2016 survey, nor since 2014 by the
surveyor (Robert Aquilina, for the New Forest Higher Level Stewardship Agreement, The
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Verderers of the New Forest). It is hoped that the species still survives, as previous translocation
methods were abandoned, due to too tiny a population. February to October.
Fig. 7 Crockford. Photograph by PDB.
Graptodytes flavipes (Olivier) NT. Found in acid heathland ponds and pools; fairly
widespread in the New Forest in 1999/2000 [LIFE II] and with a number of records since then.
All year.
HELOPHORIDAE
Helophorus laticollis Thomson, C.G. EN. Found in shallow grassy pools on heathland. At
present, in Britain, it appears to be confined to the New Forest in only a handful of sites (Carr,
2012; Foster et al., 2018). AJA recorded it from a small, seasonal pond near Millyford Bridge in
March 2000 with J.A. Owen, May 2000 with R.G. Booth and in April 2006. On all occasions it
was the most plentiful species in the pond. March to May, also September to December.
HYDROPHILIDAE
Enochrus nigritus (Sharp) NT. Local in England and Wales. In the New Forest found in the
old marlpit ponds, including Crockford Bridge and Little Wootton. Recent records from
February to July with an old David Sharp record for September 1915.
DRYOPIDAE
Dryops striatellus (Fairmaire & Brisout de Barneville) NS. Found on heaths in exposed acid
water with 60% of British records from the New Forest (Foster et al., 2020). Sharp (1919) wrote
‘abundant in the New Forest’ and it is still that today in the right habitat. All year.
80 Brock & Allen
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Fig. 8 Balmer Lawn and Balmer Lawn pond. Photograph by PDB.
CURCULIONIDAE
Bagous brevis Gyllenhal RDB1. In Britain, at present, only from very few ponds in the New
Forest. AJA has found it by searching through pondweed in April and May and by grubbing in a
dried-up pond in late summer. March to June and August.
Bagous collignensis (Herbst) RDB3. Rare, but found at a number of sites including Balmer
Lawn and Little Wootton Bottom. As well as the New Forest there are records from 1980
onwards from only West Cornwall and East Kent. Usually April to August then October to
November.
Bagous czwalinai Seidlitz RDB1. In Britain only known from the New Forest, in small
ponds and bogs, including Crockford Bridge and Little Wooton Bottom. The Balfour-Browne
database has records from April, June, August and September.
Bagous frit (Herbst) RDB3. The host plant is bogbean Menyanthes trifoliata. Although
recently discovered in some Welsh mires this is still a rare beetle. Modern New Forest records
are from Denny Wood in July and August 1960 and April 1965 and 1971, all by M.G. Morris;
J.S. Denton found it at Standing Hat ponds, Balmer Lawn in August 2002.
Selected rarer or localised non-saproxylic Coleoptera in the New Forest
Although a list of New Forest beetles has never been published, much information can
be found from a combination of museum and private collections, entomological
literature and NBN Atlas. Details on many of the more interesting Red List species
recorded since 1980 are given below, with historic notes on Pterostichus aterrimus.
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CARABIDAE
Cicindela sylvatica Linnaeus EN NS. Exceedingly rare in the Forest, in warm, sandy
heathland sites, but may still be present in small numbers – for example, two were recorded by
Martin Noble in the Burley area on 4 March 2003. May to July.
Tachys obtusiusculus (Jeannel) NT NR. The original description (Edmonds, 1934) was
from eight New Forest specimens. The history of the species (as Tachys edmondsi Moore) is
given in Hammond (2002). He began with ‘from the New Forest, where it was collected in
various years between 1912 and 1937, it has never been recorded from elsewhere in the UK or
from any other country.’ He went on to state that ‘Tachys edmondsi is native to the western part
of the Palaearctic region and does, in fact, occur in parts of Western Europe other than Britain’
and ‘the first task, after an interval of more than 60 years since the species was last collected in
the UK, remains to rediscover T. edmondsi in its (former) New Forest haunts.’ This was a major
aim of the LIFE II survey. A group of coleopterists met near Millyford Bridge on 29 May 2000.
Peter Hammond, who was not present, had suggested a number of spots that would be worth a
search; the beetle was quite quickly found and Martin Luff confirmed its identity that evening. It
is something of a mystery that previous attempts by a number of skilled coleopterists had failed,
especially as it is now known to be widespread in the forest in the right habitat. This is mostly
the low mounds, usually covered in moss, that are a characteristic feature of New Forest lawns
on low-lying ground.
Tachyura walkeriana (Sharp) NT NR. Like the previous species this was also first
described from the New Forest (Sharp, 1913b). He found three specimens in wet moss by the
side of a little stream. It is found in damp Sphagnum moss and flood litter. Its stronghold is the
New Forest and it is known from a single site in Surrey. May to September.
Poecilus kugelanni (Panzer) NT NR. Regularly found in various sandy heathland sites, in
sand pits and exposed sandy banks, between April to July. Walters (2010) published an
illustrated study on their ecology.
Pterostichus aterrimus (Herbst) CR (Possibly Extinct) NR. This has always been a great
rarity in Britain. Appleton (2004) discovered a population in 1969 in a valley mire close to
Denny Wood and there were records up to 1973. There has been no British record since. Telfer
(2016) gives reasons why it is most likely to be extinct in England but also points out that, given
that it was undetected in the New Forest until 1969, that there must be a possibility it may be
recorded again.
HISTERIDAE
Hister bissexstriatus Fabricius NT NR. Seldom recorded in the New Forest but a good
population has been found by Colin Easton in northern cattle-grazed commons during dung
beetle surveys from 2019; previously recorded from Stagbury Hill, 5 May 2008, Tom Harrison
and Warwick Slade, 24 April 2015 by AJA. March to December, with a peak in April to May.
PTILIIDAE
Ptiliolum marginatum (Aubé) RDBK. Recorded by R.G. Booth on 26 May 2000 [LIFE II].
Found in decaying vegetation or in dung or fungi. May to August.
STAPHYLINIDAE
Acylophorus glaberrimus (Herbst) NT NR. Found in permanently wet mire. All British
records from 1980 onwards are from the New Forest where it can be plentiful on occasions. May
to September.
Atheta (Ceritaxa) dilaticornis (Kraatz) RDBK. Denny Lodge Inclosure (SU337040) 15
April 2004. One male sieved from leaf litter in a conifer plantation by T. Harrison. Otherwise
only known from Surrey in 1922 and E. Sussex in 1980.
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Calodera rubens Erichson RDBI. In February 2016 Mark Telfer found a male by sieving at
the edge of a heathland pond near Warwick Slade (Telfer, 2017). This was the first New Forest
record for many years. January to May.
Erichsonius ytenensis (Sharp) RDBI. Described by Sharp (1913a) from two sites in the
New Forest, the first on 5 May 1909 beyond Beaulieu Road Station. Most records are from the
New Forest but none are recent. In Sphagnum and other mosses.
Eutheia plicata (Gyllenhal) RDBK. Recorded at Busketts Inclosure on 25 May 2000 by
R.C. Welch [LIFE II] (Welch, 2001). May to July.
Ilyobates nigricollis (Paykull) RDBK. Recorded in various woods in May 2000 [LIFE II].
April to August.
Oxytelus piceus (Linnaeus) NS. Found in horse dung at Wootton Coppice on 24 April 1999
by A.B. Drane [LIFE II] and by T. Harrison near Stagbury Hill on 5 May 2008.
Paederus caligatus Erichson NS. Found in wet mires; widespread in the Forest which is the
stronghold for the species. Mainly recorded in April to September.
Planeustomus flavicollis Fauvel RDBK. Rediscovered during the Natural History
Museum’s long-term soil biodiversity project at Whitley Wood in 2003 (Giusti, 2007). A single
specimen was found in April 2003, 15 in May 2003 and 15 more in April 2004. Before that, last
recorded in 1912 by D. Sharp).
Quedius dilatatus (Fabricius) NS. Regularly found on the sap runs of goat moth Cossus
cossus (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) infected trees at night, but often well hidden in
crevices by day, although occasionally seen at rest during late June to September. The larvae
develop in hornet Vespa crabro Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) nests, where adults may
also occur.
Quedius plancus Erichson NS. Very localised distribution across southern England and
Wales. It is usually found amongst coarse flood litter at the water’s edge and seems to favour
watercourses running through woodland (Boyce, 2022). Williams (1976) recorded it from flood
refuse near Brockenhurst in 1969, 1970 and 1971. AJA found it in coarse flood litter at
Highland Water in April 2006 and on several subsequent occasions.
Rugilus geniculatus (Erichson) NR. Though there are records across southern England and
Wales north to Meirionnydd, it is extremely localised throughout its range. Habitat associations
are poorly understood, but most records are from moss and litter in dry, grassy places (Boyce,
2022). However, found in Sphagnum in a marsh at two localities near Burley Street, by T.
Harrison, 7 December 1997, and by AJA, 12 March 1999.
Scopaeus minutus CE NR. One male landed on sheet while looking for water beetles,
Standing Hat ponds 10 April 1997, Booth (1999).
Staphylinus caesareus Cederhjelm DD NR. This is a great rarity with very few recent
records. Best known from the New Forest where it has usually been found singly and from a
number of habitats. It was formerly confused with S. dimidiaticornis Gemminger and possibly
misidentified in the Forest on occasion. Adults recorded in April, June and July.
Stenus kiesenwetteri Rosenhauer RDB2. Mostly associated with peaty mires and in England
is mainly recorded from the New Forest but also on some Dorset, Sussex and Surrey heaths.
April to September.
Stenus longitarsis Thomson RDBI. Rare but known from two sites in moss or leaves at the
edge of ponds. Adults usually recorded from February to May.
Tychus striola Guillebeau RDBI. Harrison (2013) found the third British specimen by
sweeping on the landward side of the sea wall at Park Shore on 24 March 2012.
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GEOTRUPIDAE
Geotrupes mutator (Marsham) NT NR. Widespread in the New Forest. Darren Mann (pers.
comm.) has about 20 records. Found in sites like Crock Hill in 2003 and by Colin Easton during
dung beetle surveys from 2019 in northern cattle-grazed commons, numbers peaking in March
and April.
SCARABAEIDAE
Heptaulacus testudinarius (Fabricius) CR NR. This small beetle is usually found under
dung, often on bare sand. It was formerly not uncommon at one site in the Forest but not seen
after 1979 until it was rediscovered at D. Appleton’s site at White Moor by Darren Mann in
2017 and found at two new sites in 2019. One of these was by Colin Easton, in May 2019, in a
small area and it has since been found there in reasonable numbers. Found from December to
May, with a peak in February and March.
Liothorax niger (Illiger) NR. Widespread and often abundant across the New Forest and
still present at the historic pond locality of Balmer Lawn, near Brockenhurst. Found around the
margins of temporary or permanent pools or ditches. It can be found all year, but most often in
April to June (Mann & Garvey, 2014). A Species Recovery Programme survey on this species
(as Aphodius niger) was made in 1997 by S.A. Williams.
MELYRIDAE
Malachius aeneus (Linnaeus) NT NR. This species is well established in the South Gorley
area where adults are often found on grasses and flowers in meadows. It is possible that eggs are
laid in the thatch of old, thatched cottages nearby. In other parts of the New Forest usually found
on flowers, including buttercup or ribwort plantain, or crawling on nearby grasses, from mid-
May to mid-June, later in some sites than others. Furzey Gardens near Minstead is a classic site
for them first identified on 26 May 2011 after PDB pointed out a large, unrecorded population
to Steven Falk, who alerted Buglife. Later, Ian Hughes constructed breeding areas for them at
Furzey; monitoring of the population is ongoing.
NITIDULIDAE
Meligethes bidentatus Brisout de Barneville RDBK. Found in Roydon Woods on 28 May
2000 by N.F. Heal [LIFE II]. Associated with dyer’s greenweed Genista tinctoria. May to
September.
COCCINELLIDAE
Hippodamia tredecimpunctata (Linnaeus) RDBK. Found in marshy habitats, this ladybird
has been associated with boggy parts of the New Forest. Two were found at Withycombe Slade
on 18 August 2009 (Paul, 2009). May to November.
MELOIDAE
Sitaris muralis (Forster) VU NR. Rediscovered in Brockenhurst in 2010, the previous New
Forest record being in 1947 (Brock, 2010), and since found also in Sway and Lymington, the
latter in soil beneath conifer bushes, with a much stronger population than on an old brick wall
in Brockenhurst. None were recorded from Brockenhurst in 2021, compared with four in 2020.
This species is also recorded from Wiltshire (Brock & Roberts, 2017) and Dorset. Adults are
found in August but have been recorded on 31 July and up to 2 September. Triungulins
overwinter and either crawl into the nest of the solitary bee host Anthophora plumipes (Pallas)
(Hymenoptera: Apidae) or cling onto and are transferred by these bees. See Lückmann (2016)
for studies on range expansion in Germany.
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CHRYSOMELIDAE
Longitarsus nigerrimus (Gyllenhal) VU NR. This species is restricted in Britain to the New
Forest and east Dorset (Cox, 2007) where it is found in shallow boggy pools, pits and bogs with
bladderworts Utricularia. It is another species first recorded in Britain by David Sharp: from
Setley Plain, New Forest in 1911 (Sharp, 1911). After a long gap in records Roger Booth
rediscovered it near Hurn in Dorset but VC 11 South Hampshire in 1996 and in the New Forest
in 1998. He gives an account of its history and these new records in Booth (2000). There are at
least four recent New Forest sites. February to July, but mainly September and October.
NANOPHYIDAE
Dieckmanniellus gracilis (Redtenbacher) RDB3. Not uncommon in the New Forest, for
example in 1999/2000 [LIFE II], Balmer Lawn, June 2003, AJA and by PDB on 17 September
2011. Found on water-purslane Lythrum portula in damp muddy areas. May to September.
CURCULIONIDAE
Pelenomus olssoni (Israelson) RDB3. Recorded by M.G. Morris 26 May 2000 [LIFE II].
Known from a number of sites including Balmer Lawn, AJA June 2002. Found on water-
purslane. April to September.
There are numerous Nationally Scarce and local species to interest the visitor, not least
the caterpillar-hunting beetles such as Calosoma inquisitor (Linnaeus) NS (Carabidae)
and Dendroxena quadrimaculata (Scopoli) NS (Silphidae), whose numbers vary from
year to year depending on how common moth caterpillars are in the woodlands. One
stunning species certain to brighten one’s day when found in heathlands is Carabus
nitens Linnaeus NS (Carabidae). On the first day PDB used a portable moth trap in the
New Forest at Ladycross on 29 July 2011, the first insect attracted was Odonteus
armiger (Scopoli) NS (Geotrupidae).
Recent Coleoptera discoveries and arrivals in the New Forest
These include the following.
LATRIDIIDAE
Corticaria horreum Allen, Telfer & Rücker. Found in old thatch in South Gorley on 10
June 2007 and described as a new species in 2021.
CERAMBYCIDAE
Stictoleptura rubra (Linnaeus). Found in Brockenhurst on 3 August 2020 and on pine logs
in 2021 and 2022 by PDB. Recorded in Half Moon Common 16 July 2020. July to September.
CHRYSOMELIDAE
Agelastica alni (Linnaeus) DD NR. Seen in abundance throughout the New Forest (by PDB
since early 2017) on alder and many other trees, part of a wide expansion in range for this
species. April to October.
Pilemostoma fastuosum (Schaller) NS. Found on common fleabane Pulicaria dysenterica
by PDB in Brockenhurst on 10 and 13 August, 2021.
Coleoptera extinctions
Table 1 shows New Forest saproxylic species that are now extinct in Britain and Table
2 shows saproxylic species no longer found in the Forest.
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Table 1. New Forest saproxylic species extinct in Britain (adapted from Alexander, 2010)
Species
Family
Last date
Anthaxia nitidula (Linnaeus)
Buprestidae
1954
Cardiophorus gramineus (Scopoli)
Elateridae
19th century
Endophloeus markovichianus (Piller & Mitterpacher)
Zopheridae
1927
Anthaxia nitidula was found on blackthorn at Balmer Lawn, Brockenhurst until
1954, where it is often said to have been over-collected. However, grazing and
improvement works may have caused extinction. Endophloeus markovichianus is only
known from the New Forest with at least four examples collected by C. Turner in
March 1862 and collected again in August 1927 by F.J. Coulson. A list of New Forest
saproxylic Red List species indicates that a number no longer occur in the area
(Alexander, 2010). Reviewing the non-saproxylic species, Copris lunaris (Linnaeus)
(Scarabaeidae) is assessed as CR (Possibly Extinct).
Table 2. Other New Forest saproxylic Red List species not recorded in the New Forest since
1980 (adapted from Alexander, 2010)
Species
Family
Last date
Paromalus parallelepipedus (Herbst) VU NR
Histeridae
1910
Ptinella limbata (Heer) RDBK
Ptiliidae
19th century
Amarochara bonnairei (Fauvel) RDBI
Staphylinidae
1915
Euplectus tholini Guillebeau RDB3
Staphylinidae
19th century
Eutheia linearis Mulsant & Rey RDB1
Staphylinidae
1977
Euryusa optabilis Heer RDBI
Staphylinidae
1964
Lagria atripes Mulsant & Guillebeau
Tenebrionidae
1938
Microscydmus minimus (Chaudoir) RDB3
Staphylinidae
Post 1970
Pella cognata (Märkel) RDBK
Staphylinidae
1970
Phyllodrepa nigra (Gravenhorst) RDBI
Staphylinidae
1917?
Stichoglossa semirufa (Erichson) RDBI
Staphylinidae
1969
Tachinus bipustulatus (Fabricius) CR NR
Staphylinidae
Old?
Trinodes hirtus (Fabricius) NT NR
Dermestidae
1911
Xyletinus longitarsis Jansson VU NR
Ptinidae
1962
Epuraea neglecta (Heer) RDBI
Nitidulidae
1966
Oxylaemus cylindricus (Creutzer) RDB EX
Bothrideridae
19th century
Orthocis coluber (Abeille de Perrin) RDB3
Ciidae
1917
Platydema violacea (Fabricius) NR
Tenebrionidae
1901
Vanonus brevicornis (Perris) CR(PE) NR
Aderidae
Pre 1892
Scraptia fuscula Müller VU NR
Scraptiidae
?
Dissoleucas niveirostris (Fabricius) RDB2
Anthribidae
1831
Pseudeuparius sepicola (Fabricius) RDB2
Anthribidae
1967
These are worth searching for in the New Forest as several species are likely to still
occur. Orthocis coluber has recently been found in numbers just outside the National
Park (Alexander, 2020). It is possible that some species are in private collections and
the records have not filtered through to recording schemes.
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Are beetles declining?
To recap from the Victoria County History, the New Forest or ‘entomologist’s
paradise’ has always been known for its rarities and the list in that publication (Fowler
& Walker, 1900) only includes the ‘more rare and local Coleoptera’, some only found
in the New Forest and nowhere else in Britain. Many of these species are present
nowadays, even if it is hard work and may take years finding them. However, like
many insect orders, some species found in 1900 are now presumed extinct. Examining
old collections, one can only imagine how delighted coleopterists were to find such
numbers of rarities and a wide range of species. This is not the case at present,
although it is still one of the best areas in Britain for beetles. Walking through even the
best old woodlands today, there is reason to agree with the widely held view that
insects are in general decline, with a noticeable reduction in the number of beetles seen
at random on dead wood even since 2010. But there are no figures to substantiate the
abundance of beetles compared with, for example, regular annual transect walks for
butterflies. The New Forest has plenty of dead wood of various ages but managing
vast areas can be problematical (particularly with grazing stock pressures) including
timing of tree felling and clearing vegetation causing shading out. Storm damage
(Fig. 9) is one source of dead timber.
On the other hand we have a number of former Red List species being downgraded
to Nationally Scarce. Whilst the criteria for Red List have changed since 2001, the
downgrading might indicate to the lay person that beetles are doing better than in
previous decades, which is undoubtedly not the case. Were previous assessments
based on insufficient data? For many species there are more records after 2000 due to
increased effort and data flow and this may lead to downgrading. Entomologists
seldom used vane traps for saproxylic beetles until recently. Trapping can reveal
hidden species in some localities; as a consequence, some rarities are now known from
unexpected sites, not just ancient woodlands.
Conclusion
Despite the recognition of the New Forest as one of the most important areas for
wildlife in the UK, many beetle species remain poorly documented and understood. It
is hoped that further studies will be made, in order to assist conservation efforts.
Alexander (2010) considered tree demographics as the highest key priority for action,
followed by knowledge of where breeding sites of the rarer beetles are and their
detailed habitat needs. These are still applicable now. The Woodland Trust’s online
Ancient Tree Inventory has been steadily building up knowledge of the Forest’s older
generation trees and this resource is accessible to all – it shows where there are
concentrations of veteran trees and hence identifies areas most likely to be of interest
for saproxylic beetles.
If collecting or using collecting equipment, it is necessary to obtain a permit from
Forestry England. However, many of the easily recognisable rarer larger beetles are
simply recorded by naturalists, who often take photographs of finds by way of
confirmation. Volunteers can help to improve knowledge of species, which has
An overview of Coleoptera in the New Forest 87
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recently helped to provide significant added information during surveys of dung
beetles and Gnorimus nobilis. The New Forest National Park website (Beetles,
undated) has helped encourage records. Let us hope these beetle gems of the New
Forest are around for years to come
Fig. 9 Storm damage in Denny Wood, May 2021. Photograph by PDB.
Sites mentioned
Allum Green SU279070, Balmer Lawn SU305035, Bramshaw Wood SU255163,
Brockenhurst SU301026, Broom Hill SU258145, Burley SU211030, Burley Street
SU202042, Busketts Inclosure SU331103, Canada Common SU287176, Crockford
Bridge SZ350990, Crock Hill SU293154, Denny Lodge Inclosure SU341043, Denny
Wood SU335058, Fordingbridge SU149143, Furzey Gardens, Minstead SU272114,
Gritnam Wood SU285063, Half Moon Common SU293164, Highland Water
SU246082, Hollands Wood SU304047, Ladycross SU335027, Little Wootton SZ2298,
Lymington SZ318955, Lyndhurst SU298082, Mallard Wood SU324092, Mark Ash
88 Brock & Allen
[The Coleopterist 31(2): 66-91, September 2022]
SU245075, Matley Wood SU333077, Millyford Bridge SU271079, Millyford Green
SU267078, New Copse Inclosure SU328031, Park Shore SZ405964, Pig Bush
SU362050, Queen Bower SU290040, Ramnor Inclosure SU312047, Roe Inclosure
SU202089, Rushpole Wood SU309097, South Gorley SU161105, Stagbury Hill
SU286160, Standing Hat Ponds SU314036, Sway SZ276985, Sway Pits SZ2899,
Warwick Slade SU272062, White Moor SU309079, Whitley Wood SU296056,
Widden Bottom SZ292995, Withycombe Slade SU380074, Wootton Coppice
SU250997.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Richard Dickson, George Else and Roger Booth for further background
information on some of the entomologists, Jonty Denton for his Hampshire beetles list
and Excel spreadsheet, Garth Foster for the South Hampshire section of the Balfour-
Browne Club database, Darren Mann for supplying extra information on a number of
entomologists and species and the photograph of Donisthorpe’s notebook, Michael
Darby for making the LIFE Survey data available, Richard Reeves for assisting with
library references, Robert Aquilina for comments on water beetles, all the coleopterists
who supplied records and Colin Easton and Howard Mendel for their extra help.
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Cimberis attelaboides (Fabricius) (Nemonychidae) new to
Ayrshire
Bruce Philp
7 Glebe Crescent, Ochiltree, Ayrshire KA18 2QP; brucephilp@gmail.com
I have a flight trap set in a fairly large Forrest’s fir (Abies delavayi var. forrestii) in my garden
in Ayrshire (NS507213). On 24 April 2022 I was surprised to find a single Cimberis
attelaboides (Fabricius) in the trap. The beetle is normally found on pines Pinus spp. where it
apparently feeds in the male cones (Duff, 2016). It occurs sporadically across Scotland with a
concentration of records in the highlands in pine woodland but the Curculionoidea Recording
Scheme has only eight Scottish records since 2000 (Mark Gurney, pers. comm.) and the species
has never previously been recorded in Ayrshire.
I was very surprised when Iain Hamlin sent me another specimen of C. attelaboides that he
had found in a pine plantation at Western Gailes SSSI (NS315366) on 4 June 2022 near Irvine
on the Clyde coast in North Ayrshire. Its emergence early in the season may in part account for
the small number of records.
Acknowledgement
Thanks for previous records are due to Mark Gurney at the Curculionoidea Recording Scheme.
Reference
DUFF, A.G. 2016. Beetles of Britain & Ireland. Volume 4: Cerambycidae to Curculionidae.
West Runton: A.G. Duff (Publishing).
