Diastictus vulneratus
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Scarab beetle or ally |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(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: | Diastictus vulneratus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Sturm, 1805) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Lane and Mann, 2016 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Found at a few locations in the Brecks; declining |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Vulnerable to changes in management resulting in rank closed sward and scrubbing over. We lack knowledge on its autoecology and breeding habits |
| 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: | It has always been known only from a few sites in the Norfolk/Suffolk Brecks; likely a poor disperser and therefore unlikely to benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Pitfall trapping at two of its recent sites has failed to find it. Notoriously hard to find species; mostly subterranean. Requires warm dry, sheltered places with short sward and bare sandy ground. There may be a loose association with rabbits. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Field study to determine the extent of its population at its most recent sites and develop best practice methodology to find this species
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Weeting Heath SSSI, Stanford Training Area SSSI, Lakenheath Warren SSSI, Cranwich Camp SSSI
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Where extant populations are found implement management to maintain short sward and bare ground mosaic by scarification or grazing. Fence off sensitive areas to allow rabbits to graze without pressures from dogs.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Weeting Heath SSSI, Stanford Training Area SSSI, Lakenheath Warren SSSI, Cranwich Camp SSSI
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Field study to determine the breeding ecology of D. vulneratus to see if there is a connection with rabbits.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Weeting Heath SSSI, Stanford Training Area SSSI, Lakenheath Warren SSSI, Cranwich Camp SSSI
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.