Malthodes crassicornis
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Soldier beetle or ally |
| 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: | Malthodes crassicornis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Mäklin, 1846) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Alexander, 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | A highly fragmented range across lowland England, from Castle Hill SSSI and Duncombe Park NNR (North-east Yorkshire) in the north, to Grimsthorpe Park (South Lincolnshire), Staverton Park (East Suffolk), Hatfield (North Essex), Hainault and Epping Forests (South Essex), Windsor Forest (Berkshire) and Ashtead Common NNR (Surrey) along the eastern part of England. Also a concentration in the Severn Basin, with Moccas Park (Herefordshire), Croome Park and Longdon Marsh (Worcestershire), and Ashleworth Ham (West Gloucestershire); Blenheim Park (Oxfordshire); and in Somerset (two sites on the Levels, and at Alfoxton Park on the Quantocks). There is a projected continuing decline in the numbers of available suitable host trees. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Minimum intervention management will not provide conditions suitable for the development of suitable host trees |
| 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): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | This beetle develops in the red-rotten heartwood of old open-grown oaks in relict old lowland forest and ancient wood pastures, and probably also in veteran willow pollards on grazing levels. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Research to characterise the ecology of the beetle, in terms of the species, size, condition, situation and management of host trees, and flower visits by adults
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Grimsthorpe Park (Lincolnshire), Windsor Forest (Berkshire), Moccas Park (Herefordshire), Croome Park (Worcestershire), and Ashleworth Ham (West Gloucestershire)
Comments: Insufficient data are available to fully characterise the ecology of the beetle, in terms of the size, condition, and situation of suitable dead wood
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: At sites where the species occurs document age structure for potential host veteran trees and future veterans, to determine whether there is an adequate rate of replacement. Also assess requirements for management of the veteran tree stock to reduce the risk of wind throw, by undertaking tree surgery to reduce the crown of excessive bough weighting.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: To be determined based on the results of Action 1
Comments: The conservation of saproxylic invertebrates relies on continuity in the availability of dead wood resources, which can take centuries to develop, so there is a need to identify if there is insufficient recruitment of younger trees at sites where the species occurs. In general the loss of veteran trees at protected sites and in the wider landscape exceeds rates of recruitment.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Create primers to allow eDNA sampling.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Moccas Park (Herefordshire)
Comments: To allow a focus on larval development sites through less invasive detection in saproxylic substrates.
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.