Melanophila acuminata
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Soldier 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: | Melanophila acuminata |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (De Geer, 1774) |
| 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: | Endangered. The only relatively modern reports are in Surrey, from near the railway line on Chobham Common NNR in 1992, and Brentmoor Heath in 1997. |
| 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: | Trees generally, on and around lowland heathland, where they have experienced periodic fires. The larvae feed in and under the bark of scorched and burnt conifers and birches. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Survey heathland sites in southern England that have recently experienced large-scale fires.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Hankley Common (Surrey) and Wareham Heath (Dorset).
Comments: Confirmation is needed that this species is still extant in Britain. Beyond this it is difficult to balance the needs of a species that is seemingly completely dependent on fire, with fire suppression activities across lowland heaths.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: If it is established that Melanophila acuminata is still resident in Britain, trial appropriate heathland management methods for its conservation.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: To be determined based on the results of Action 1
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.