Meloe cicatricosis
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Darkling beetle or ally |
| Red List Status: | Regionally Extinct (GB scale) (Not Relevant) [RE(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 cicatricosus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Leach, 1815 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Alexander et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | Note spelling difference between column D and G |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Presumed extinct |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Only known from Britain on the basis of several records from Sandwich Bay/Deal, Margate and Folkestone in the late 19th century. The species is considered presumed extinct. Sandwich Bay and similar habitats on the coast of southern England are well-worked for heteroptera and the chances of an overlooked population would seem remote. The species is probably an unlikely candidate to reappear in Britain, as it has declined in parts of its range and has not been seen in Holland for over 50 years. On this basis the species is very likely to be extinct in Britain and is not a suitable candidate for recovery action. |
| 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: | This species would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
Not relevant as no Key Actions defined.
Key Actions
No Key Actions Defined
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.