Bembridge Beetle (Paracymus aeneus)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Water beetle |
| 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: | Paracymus aeneus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Germar, 1823) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Foster, 2010 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Paracymus aeneus is a natural rarity, probably confined to a small enclave of the Essex coast (and 1 site on the IoW) for climatic reasons. However, its habitat of saline pools above the high water mark is inherently vulnerable. It is listed on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act and is confined to England in a GB context. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Without priority consideration this species could easily be lost from England |
| 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: | Paracymus aeneus is too rare and specialised to benefit from generic measures. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 5. Remedial action identified |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Ad hoc recording as part of GB water beetle recording scheme (Balfour-Browne Club/Aquatic Coleoptera Conservation Trust) |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Develop an Action Plan for P. aeneus in consultation with local experts and stakeholders. Further actions will flow from this.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites: 4 hectads in Essex, 1 in IoW.
Comments: Bembridge SSSI complex (IoW), Blackwater Estuary SSSI, Colne Estuary SSSI (Essex)
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.