Silpha atrata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Another member of the Silphidae family (more commonly grouped as burying beetles) this Silpha atrata was photographed in Sherwood Forest on 28/04/06. S. atrata feeds on snails and is a common species of woodland areas, when it can be found under moss during the Autumn and Winter. There is a rarer bronze form (of which we have found just two examples out of many black individuals at Sherwood) which comprises 100% of the population at Eakring Meadows NR.
....
 
....
 
....
 
 
Nottinghamshire (VC56) distribution of Silpha atrata
 
 
 
 
The records for the Nottinghamshire distribution map are currently provided by the following contributors - Trevor and Dilys Pendleton. M L Denton (2002 Sherwood Forest Coleoptera survey). Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. K N A Alexander (Invertebrate assemblage condition at Birklands and Bilhaugh SSSI and Birklands West and Ollerton Corner SSSI survey reports 2009-10). Natural England - Invertebrate Site Register 2006. Allan and Annette Binding. Wil Heeney. Keith and Belinda Lugg. Stuart Warrington. The National Trust (Clumber Park invertebrate records). Allan and Annette Binding (Clumber Park invertebrate records). NBGRC. Meg Skinner. Paul and Helen Brock. John and Denise Bingham. Natural England - Birklands and Bilhaugh SSSI & Birklands West and Ollerton Corner SSSI, Nottinghamshire Saproxylic invertebrate survey, Natural England Field Unit, April-October 2018. David Shaw. Clumber Park SSSI Saproxylic Invertebrate Survey - A report to Natural England by EMEC Ecology 2019. Brian Wetton.

You can contribute your own records to help us gain an accurate status of this species in Nottinghamshire. Send an Excel spreadsheet of your records via the 'contact us' link at the top of the homepage.

Updated November 2022

copyright © Trevor and Dilys Pendleton (www.eakringbirds.com) . .
Beetle Photo Gallery - Thumbnail version
Beetle Photo Gallery - Text version