Black Oil-beetle (Meloe proscarabaeus)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Darkling beetle or ally |
| Red List Status: | Least Concern (Not Relevant) [LC(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 proscarabaeus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Linnaeus, 1758 |
| 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: | One of the most widespread Oil Beetles, but has undergone a significant decline, disappearing from many sites |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Confined to England, recent records of this species are known from the Catfield Fen area, Burgh Common and Bure Marshes in Norfolk and the Pevensey Levels in East Sussex. The species used to occur in the New Forest but has not been since there since the 1950s. However, there is no evidence of recent population decline and all known sites are designated and managed for nature conservation. On this basis the species is not considered a priority for recovery actions at the current time. |
| 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 large, conspicuous beetle, 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: 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:
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? What plant species are favoured by the adults and how does this influence fecundity? Adult beetles are poor dispersers, but larvae are phoretic, clinging onto bees, so populations may be better connected than adult dispersal ability would suggest. Population genetics could answer this question.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Translocations of adult beetles to sites with suitable habitat and nesting bees species known to be used as hosts
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: Combine with survey of sites to define habitat characteristics and possible previously unknown populations
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.