Harpalus melancholicus
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Ground beetle |
| Red List Status: | Endangered (Not Relevant) [EN(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 melancholicus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Dejean, 1829 |
| 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: | There is just one post-1980 record of H. melancholicus from England which relates to a single individual captured in a moth trap at Bewl Water, Sussex in August 2003. There have been no further records from this location, suggesting that it likely related to a dispersing individual from further afield, or even an immigrant from the continent. The species is established at a single site in south Wales, where a population was discovered at Stackpole Warren, Pembrokeshire in 1992. Recent (2017) survey work targeting this site has significantly advanced the knowledge base by characterising preferred microhabitats, confirming food plants and identifying potentially suitable localities for further survey. Recovery actions for this species are therefore most gainfully employed in Wales. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | There is just one post-1980 record of H. melancholicus from England which relates to a single individual captured in a moth trap at Bewl Water, Sussex in August 2003. There have been no further records from this location, suggesting that it likely related to a dispersing individual from further afield, or even an immigrant from the continent. The species is established at a single site in south Wales, where a population was discovered at Stackpole Warren, Pembrokeshire in 1992. Recent (2017) survey work targeting this site has significantly advanced the knowledge base by characterising preferred microhabitats, confirming food plants and identifying potentially suitable localities for further survey. Recovery actions for this species are therefore most gainfully employed in Wales. |
| 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: | N/A |
| Justification: |
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.