Meloe brevicollis
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Darkling beetle or ally |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(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: | Meloe brevicollis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Panzer, 1793 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Alexander et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Only known from a small number of widely separated populations |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Recent records are very few in number and confined to a small area of Kent and Sussex. The last confirmed record was in 2009 and the species has never been found in numbers or at the same site on more than one occasion. This has made targeted conservation action difficult, particularly since there is no apparent reason for its decline. E. dominulus is polyphagous on various Brassicaceae like both other species in the genus, which are currently expanding their ranges in Britain as a result of climate change. It is a common and widespread species in continental Europe and present in the Channel Islands. Given the current trend for shieldbugs to colonise the British mainland from the near continent there is no reason why E. dominulus may not reappear in England by natural means. At the current time the species is therefore probably not a priority candidate for 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: | Yes |
| Justification: | Appropriate management of species rich grassland sites on substrates that can be used by the host solitary bees for nesting. Scrub removal and grazing are important elements of this management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | A fairly conspicuous species, but active in the early part of the season and therefore probably overlooked. The detection of triungulins, although small, is an important part of assessing the distribution of Oil Beetles |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Targeted survey of sites with suitable habitat
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites: Sites with suitable habitat and where the host bees are known to occur
Comments: Period of adult activity is rather fleeting and in the early part of the season, making detection of this species difficult. Perhaps make use of AI algorithms to define areas of potential occupation. The detection of the triungulins is an important part of surveying for Oil Beetles.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Define autecology of larvae and adults at known sites. Population genetics of known populations
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Outer Hebrides, Pembrokeshire and Salisbury Plain
Comments: Important questions to try and answer with targeted research include: What host bees do the beetles prefer and how does host bee nest location impact beetle larvae survivorship? Have the widely separated populations diverged genetically?
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Raise awareness among the public of this species as it's fairly large, distinctive and would be noticed by casual observers. Given the disjunct population, other populations are probably to be discovered.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Education/awareness raising
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: N/A
Comments: Partner with relevant organisations to highlight this species in apps and explore other channels to target casual observers who are likely to see this species. This could build on work that has already been done.
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.