Mab's Lantern (Philorhizus quadrisignatus)
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: | Philorhizus quadrisignatus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Dejean, 1825) |
| 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: | Mainly recorded in England and perhaps only a casual introduction in southeast Wales and eastern Scotland. A very localised species known only from six post-1980 locations in England, with later records ranging from 2004 to 2015. There is no evidence that this beetle is declining and it might be considered a lower priority although in England it is a very rare species with a scattered distribution. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | A very rare and localised species with a scattered distribution and an updated status review is necessary. Potentially specialised habitat management techniques favouring the retention of mature/over-mature trees and encouraging the build-up of suitable vegetation litter might indicate that broader habitat management measures are unsuitable. |
| 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
| 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: | In litter and under bark or among dead twigs and branches on slightly damp ground in open woodland and scrub. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Undertake a targeted survey of known locations to provide an updated status review. Use a variety of techniques to find the beetle and determine the best approach (e.g. light and pitfall traps and/or night-time searching of tree trunks by torchlight).
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Recent locations include Welshbury Wood, Glos, Parham Park, W Sussex, near Bishop's Stortford, Herts, Bushy Park , Middlesex and Bookham Common, Surrey.
Comments: If a decline is identified then undertake actions 2 and 3.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Carry out autecological research to help identify the nature and quality of suitable woodland and scrub habitats and their management requirements, as well as the pressures which might result in further declines.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Welshbury Wood, Glos, Parham Park, W Sussex, near Bishop's Stortford, Herts, Bushy Park , Middlesex and Bookham Common, Surrey.
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Depending on the results of the autecological study and site management reviews undertake suitable woodland management including the retention of mature/over-mature trees and encouraging the retention and build-up of suitable vegetation litter.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Welshbury Wood, Glos, Parham Park, W Sussex, near Bishop's Stortford, Herts, Bushy Park , Middlesex and Bookham Common, Surrey.
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.