Petty Whin Weevil (Exapion genistae)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Weevil |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Exapion genistae |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Kirby, 1811) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Has declined, now very restricted. Its foodplant is NT in Britain and VU in England. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Not at risk of extinction in 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: | Yes |
| Justification: | Its foodplant, Petty Whin, is a recognised conservation priority. Sympathetic management and restoration of heathland overall should be good for the weevil, if it can colonise new areas. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | This species is not often reported, although it is not difficult to find if it is targeted. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Search former localities and other areas where strong populations of its foodplant are extant in its former range.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: Thames Basin heaths, New Forest, Sussex heaths, Dorset heaths, Cumbria.
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Manage all existing localities to encourage Petty Whin.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Chailey Common, New Forest, Finglandrigg Wood
Comments: We know that the weevil needs Petty Whin, so continuing to manage these locations to support the plant is essential, even though we may not understand the ecology of the weevil completely.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Monitor populations at extant sites every five years.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Chailey Common, New Forest, Finglandrigg Wood
Comments: Monitor species at known and future locations every five years.
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.