Brush-thighed Seed-eater (Harpalus froelichii)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Ground 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: | Harpalus froelichii |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Sturm, 1818 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Telfer, 2016 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | All modern records of H. froelichii are from East Anglia and the species has a major stronghold in the East Anglian Breckland. It is now known from 16 hectads since 1980 (7 hectads in the 2016 status review) and has recently appeared at sites away from its core Breckland range in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and parts of north Norfolk. Although many of these records are from light traps, they do indicate a picture of a species which is undergoing range expansion. H. froelichii is strongly associated with early-successional habitats on dry, disturbed sandy soils and at a landscape scale, is a species that would benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase early successional habitat mosaics. The species feeds on the seeds of Fat-hen and is frequently found in sandy arable margins. H. froelichii was one of the species assessed by the Breckland Ground Beetles project (2015), which provided a variety of practical outputs directed at the conservation of a suite of rare carabids inhabiting this region, including habitat management recommendations and engagement with landowners. Assuming that these initiatives are ongoing, it is not a priority for recovery actions at the current time. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | All modern records of H. froelichii are from East Anglia and the species has a major stronghold in the East Anglian Breckland. It is now known from 16 hectads since 1980 (7 hectads in the 2016 status review) and has recently appeared at sites away from its core Breckland range in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and parts of north Norfolk. Although many of these records are from light traps, they do indicate a picture of a species which is undergoing range expansion. H. froelichii is strongly associated with early-successional habitats on dry, disturbed sandy soils and at a landscape scale, is a species that would benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase early successional habitat mosaics. The species feeds on the seeds of Fat-hen and is frequently found in sandy arable margins. H. froelichii was one of the species assessed by the Breckland Ground Beetles project (2015), which provided a variety of practical outputs directed at the conservation of a suite of rare carabids inhabiting this region, including habitat management recommendations and engagement with landowners. Assuming that these initiatives are ongoing, it is not 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: | Author states this Breckland species would benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase early successional habitat mosaics. |
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.