Halacritus punctum
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Clown or False-clown beetle |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Not Relevant) [NT(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Halacritus punctum |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Aubé, 1842) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Lane, 2017 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Four post 1990 English locations in the South/South-west; apparently in decline but very small and hard to find |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Confined to England, but unrecorded before 1989 and presumably a recent arrival. Thought to have colonised Britain naturally, but it is unclear whether the species is genuinely native. Known only from Dungeness and not recorded there since 2009, despite considerable subsequent survey effort. Only a few specimens were recorded, suggesting that it is a species that occurs at low density and that it was only ever poorly established in Britain. On this basis it is not a suitable candidate for any recovery actions. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Halacritus punctum is associated with decaying tide-line refuse on beaches so does not operate at a landscape scale |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Halacritus punctum is small and hard to find. Its ecological requirements are not well known and with sufficient survey effort may prove to be more widespread within its former range in the south west. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Targeted survey to understand its distribution and preferred habitat
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: Coastal sites in south-west England that have records of Halacritus
Comments: Sites for survey should be sought from the Histeridae Recording Scheme
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Discourage the removal of strand-line refuse of natural origin, including driftwood by raising awareness through community engagement.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Education/awareness raising
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: Coastal sites in south-west England that have records of Halacritus
Comments: This action would benefit other coastal species, to run concurrently with Action 1
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Strandline debris on various coastal substrates are of high conservation value. However, they are ephemeral habitats and often overlooked or seen as a problem to be solved/tidied. A national review of England's strandline assemblages and their role in maintaining a biodiverse environment is needed and would benefit many TSRA species
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Education/awareness raising
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.