| Click Beetles |
| Click Beetles belong to the Elateridae group, of which the UK has 65 species. An interest in Nottinghamshire Elateridae and Beetles in general, began a few years ago and has continued to develop ever since. These photographs (hopefully) at least begin to fill in another gap in Nottinghamshire's fauna resources, available via the internet. | ||
| Nottinghamshire has it's
fair share of click beetles, with the more ancient parts
of Sherwood Forest being particularly notable for it's
range of species, some of which we have so far managed to
find and identify and which are shown here. Some species
are fairly widespread across the county, whilst some are
much rarer and have proved very difficult to find. Click Beetles get their name from their ability to flick themselves upright should they fall onto their backs, but it is more frequently used as a defence mechanism when the beetle feels threatened. They are able to do this by flexing a well developed joint between the first and second thoracic stermites. Many Click Beetles are quite drab in appearance, but there are exceptions, of which the Ampedus group are the most colourful. |
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Unfortunately, these
beetles are uncommon and are greatly restricted by
habitat requirements. Although any of the Ampedus
group can be stumbled upon quite accidentally, it usually
takes a great deal of searching before success. The best
place to have any chance at all of seeing one of these
striking beetles, is in Sherwood Forest (shown on the
left) which is a site that I always took for granted and
thought little of, until my fauna interest broadened
considerably. From May and throughout much of the Summer months, Click Beetles can be found. Athous haemorrhoidalis is the most abundant species of all, but some of the smaller species can be equally as common, but more difficult to find due to their very small size. Below are short species summaries of all the click beetles we have recorded to date. Accompanying photographs are all taken in the field. Correct identification of many species can be difficult and we have taken great care to ensure that all species shown here are correct. Click Beetles make an interesting study for any naturalist wishing to broaden their interests. |
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| Click Beetle larvae live undergound, living on roots and decaying plant material. The adults feed on vegetation, either flowers, leaves and also take both nectar and pollen. The larvae of some species, can be serious pests of root crops. | ||
| Species summaries/status ...Comprised of our own Elateridae sightings in recent years |
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| Prosternon tessellatum | Length 9-13mm. Fairly common in parts of Sherwood Forest, either on grass, but also frequently found around the base on Heather in heathland habitat. | |
| Denticollis linearis | Length 8-13mm. Currently just one record from Sherwood Forest in 2008, but this species is probably fairly common during the Summer months. . | |
| Athous bicolor | Length 8-10mm. Just one record from Eakring Flash in early July 2008. | |
| Athous haemorrhoidalis | Length 10-15mm. Found to be the most abundant click beetle in Nottinghamshire, which is common in all sorts of locations. Often found in areas where grass grows long and is well vegetated. | |
| Athous subfuscus | Length 10-15mm. Much less common in long grass than the similar A. haemorrhoidalis. This is another species which we have only found in Sherwood Forest to date. | |
| Stenagostus rhombeus | Length 14-21mm. A large species which we have recorded regularly during the Autumn at an MV light trap operated at Lound Wood near Eakring. Reported to be a local species, but is probably fairly well represented around the Sherwood Forest area.. | |
| Selatosomus aeneus | Length 11-17mm. A large metallic coloured click beetle. We have found only one adult, at Clipstone Old Quarter in Sherwood Forest. | |
| Hemicrepidus hirtus | Length 13-17mm. Fairly commonly found in grass and areas of rank vegetation. | |
| Adrastus pallens | Length 4-5.5mm. A very small species, which we have found regularly on grass stems in the Sherwood Forest area. Easily overlooked. | |
| Dalopius marginatus | Length 6-9mm. Quite common in the Sherwood Forest area, but another species which is easily overlooked due to it's small size.. | |
| Ampedus balteatus | Length 7-10mm. Probably restricted to Sherwood Forest, where it seems to have a patchy distribution. Isolated populations have been found on single Oak remnants within the forest. | |
| Ampedus pomorum | Length 8-11mm. Very difficult to find, but we have three records of adults from one area of Sherwood Forest in May 2006 and two more recently in May 2008. | |
| Ampedus quercicola | Length 8-11mm. Difficult to find and all records from Sherwood Forest. | |
| Melanotus castanipes | Length 13-19mm. Only one record, possibly suggesting that this species may be difficult to find. | |
| Melanotus villosus | Length 14-20mm. A large species, which we found under the loose bark of dead Pines. This is probably a fairly common species of forested areas within the county. | |
| Species photographs | ||||
Prosternon
tessellatum
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Denticollis
linearis
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| Photographed at Sherwood Forest May 2006 | Photographed at Sherwood Forest May 2008 | |||
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Athous
bicolor
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Athous
haemorrhoidalis
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| Photographed at Eakring Flash July 2008 | Photographed at Eakring Flash May 2006 | |||
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Athous
subfuscus
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Stenagostus
rhombeus
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| Photographed at Clipstone Old Quarter May 2006 | Photographed at Lound Wood, September 2007 | |||
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Hemicrepidus hirtus
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Selatosomus aeneus
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| Photographed at Eakring Flash June 2008 | Photographed at Clipstone Old Quarter June 2008 | |||
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Adrastus
pallens
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Dalopius
marginatus
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| Photographed at Sherwood Forest May 2008 | Photographed at Sherwood Forest May 2008 | |||
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Ampedus
balteatus
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Ampedus
pomorum
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| Photographed at Clipstone Old Quarter May 2006 | Photographed at Sherwood Forest May 2007 | |||
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Ampedus
quercicola
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Melanotus castanipes
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| Photographed at Sherwood Forest May 2008 | Photographed at Sherwood Forest May 2008 | |||
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Melanotus villosus
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| Photographed at Clipstone Old Quarter May 2008 | ||||
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| Rare and scarce Elateridae in
Nottinghamshire The following list of Elateridae are known from the county. Source:- Nottinghamshire Local Biodiversity Action Plan - Appendix A: List of species of conservation concern in Nottinghamshire. S.Wright. |
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RDB1:
Endangered. Species which have shown a rapid
continuous decline over the last twenty years, and now
exist in 5 or fewer 10km squares of the national grid. RDB2: Vulnerable. Species likely to move into RDB1 in the near future, as most or all populations are declining. Found in 15 or fewer 10km squares since 1980. RDB3: Rare. Species with small populations which are localised or thinly scattered, but not at present qualifying for RDB1-2. Found in 15 or fewer 10km squares since 1980. RDBK: Species believed to be rare but too recently discovered to be categorised easily. RDBI: Red data book indeterminate. Species believed to be rare, but for which data on their distribution is insufficient to allow a grade to be assigned. Na: Nationally Scarce Grade A. Recorded in 16-30 10km squares since 1980. Nb: Nationally Scarce Grade B. Recorded in 31-100 10km squares since 1980. p indicates a provisional status. As in all lists, a name in bold type indicates UK Long List. [ ] indicates species which have not been recorded in the County since the publication of The Invertebrate Fauna of Nottinghamshire by J.W.Carr in 1916. It is believed that these species are likely to still be present. |
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