Variable Chafer (Gnorimus variabilis)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Scarab beetle or ally |
| 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: | Gnorimus variabilis |
| 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: | Only 2 sites since 1990; formerly more widespread. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Gnorimus variabilis breeds in damp wood mould and red rot heartwood of veteran oak and beech trees, maintaining a supply of suitably old declining trees is vital for its survival |
| 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: | Yes |
| Justification: | A diverse age structure of trees in the landscape could help G. variabilis disperse into the broader countryside. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Life history factor/s |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Gnorimus variabilis is known from Windsor Forest and Great Park, and Parham Park in West Sussex. Both SSSIs |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Consider opportunities to update of SSSI citations to include Gnorimus variabilis in recognition of its threat status here and in the EU (Vulnerable).
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Site protection
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Windsor Forest and Great Park, and Parham Park in West Sussex
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Ensure a supply of suitable veteran trees for the beetle to breed in by identifying a succession of trees to be allowed to decline naturally. In particular standing dead oak and beech trees should be left in situ. Planting beech and oak to supply future tree hosts.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Habitat creation
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Windsor Forest and Great Park, and Parham Park in West Sussex
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.