Megarthrus hemipterus
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Rove beetle (macrostaph) |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered (Not Relevant) [CR(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: | Megarthrus hemipterus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Illiger, 1794) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Boyce, 2022 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | A very rare species that has undergone a drastic decline since 1980 and is known from just six sites post 1979: Botley Wood, South Hampshire (vc11); Epsom and Ashtead Commons, Surrey (vc17); Epping Forest, South Essex (vc18); Willowmead Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire (vc20); Bentley, East Suffolk (vc25); and Broadway, Worcestershire (vc37). Apparently predominantly associated with bracket fungi in broadleaved woodland, parks and wood pastures. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Massively declined and now very rare but causes for decline unknown. Autecology and threats need further research. |
| 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: | Very rare. Threats not well understood. Apparent preferred habitats are already fairly well protected. |
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: Targeted survey of six most recent sites using active search of fungal fruiting bodies and trapping in aim to better understand autecology and threats to this species.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Botley Wood, South Hampshire (vc11); Epsom and Ashtead Commons, Surrey (vc17); Epping Forest, South Essex (vc18); Willowmead Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire (vc20); Bentley, East Suffolk (vc25); and Broadway, Worcestershire (vc37)
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Autecological study of any extant populations identified to determine required conservation actions (if any).
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Extant populations identified by action 1.
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Implement management practices to encourage good habitat conditions on known sites if necessary - e.g. retention of dead/decaying wood/decaying trees in certain conditions to encourage fungal growth, veteranisation to increase habitat provision.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: Unknown
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites: Botley Wood, South Hampshire (vc11); Epsom and Ashtead Commons, Surrey (vc17); Epping Forest, South Essex (vc18); Willowmead Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire (vc20); Bentley, East Suffolk (vc25); and Broadway, Worcestershire (vc37)
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.