Blue Plunderer (Lebia cyanocephala)
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: | Lebia cyanocephala |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| 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: | Yes |
| Justification: | Recorded from 10 hectads between 1902 and 1951 and then no records until rediscovered in Surrey, at Thursley Common, in 1997. There are no other verified records in the modern era. Although its persistence in England cannot be ruled out in the absence of recent records, poor understanding of its autecology (on dry grasslands and heath on sandy soil where it is probably associated with the leaf beetle Chrysolina hyperici, but this is not confirmed) rules out potential for reintroduction. Furthering our understanding of its autecological requirements would be of benefit. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Would be useful to further understand leaf beetle host and association with Hypericum |
| 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
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Establish status at Thursley Common
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Thursley Common
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Autecological study to confirm leaf beetle host and association with Hypericum spp., to inform wider habitat surveys for the species.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Thursley Common
Comments:
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.