Noble Chafer (Gnorimus nobilis)
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: | Gnorimus nobilis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| 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: | Ongoing decline caused by loss of old orchard trees |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | In Britain traditional orchards are the principle habitat in which Gnorimus nobilis is found. Tree replacement in favour of smaller commercial orchard trees and modern agricultural techniques reduces the available habitat. Similarly neglect of existing traditional orchard trees results in a gradual decline in habitat suitability |
| 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: | The Gnorimus nobilis population in the New Forest is the only British population thought not to be reliant on orchard trees; its ecology needs investigating to understand their use of the landscape. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | Gnorimus nobilis in traditional orchards has been the focus of much work by the People's Trust for Endangered Species with targeted surveys, citizen science projects and land owner engagement |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Investigate the ecology of the New Forest population to inform habitat management within the forest and surround areas.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Known sites in the New Forest should be sought from the Scarabidae Recording Scheme and Local Environmental Records Centres
Comments: This should be done in consultation with PTES
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Encourage the appropriate management and preservation of traditional orchards in its stronghold areas of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Warwickshire and Kent
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 100 sites
High priority sites: Known sites should be sought from the Scarabidae Recording Scheme and Local Environmental Records Centres
Comments: This should be done in consultation with PTES
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Encourage local orchard planting schemes to consider G. nobilis in their planning and management
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Education/awareness raising
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Warwickshire and Kent
Comments: This should be done in consultation with PTES
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.