Scaly Cricket (Pseudomogoplistes vicentae)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - orthopteran > Grasshopper, cricket or ally |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(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: | Pseudomogoplistes vicentae |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Gorochov, 1996 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Sutton, 2015 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | In the IUCN European Red List assessment, the agreed common name is the Atlantic Beach Cricket. It has been proposed that populations in N France and England belong to a separate sub-species (septentrionalis, J Morere and A Livory, L'Argiope 23: 29-37) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Listed as Vulnerable on the GB and European red list. Three of the 4 main populations in the UK are in England. As a shingle/cobble beach-living species, populations are vulnerable to the increasing frequency and severity of severe storms associated with climate change. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | The species is known from only three sites in England (but could be under-recorded). Severe storms in 2013/14 and 2023 severely damaged the shingle habitat of the population at Branscombe. Collection and burning of drift-wood could also potentially affect the species, as females are known to oviposit in drift wood. |
| 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 - Climate change |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Monitoring at Branscombe and Chesil beach was conducted by K. Vahed from 2016- 2021, then funded by Natural England from 2023-2025. Pitfall trapping at set locations using baited pitfall traps is a standard monitoring technique for the species. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Undertake pitfall trap surveys of new potential sites across southern English coasts. The species is nocturnal and lives withing the shingle/ under cobbles, so might have been under-recorded.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: An MoA between Buglife and Natural England covers some surveying of potential populations on beaches across the south coast of England in 2024 and 2025.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Provide information boards at the three main sites in England (Branscombe, Rousden and Chesil) to discourage the collection or burning of driftwood, being the preferred oviposition medium for the species.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Education/awareness raising
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Branscombe Beach, Charton Bay (Rousden estate), Chesil Beach
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Undertake DNA analysis (e.g. CO1 barcoding) of the British populations, those in N. France, the Channel Islands and from the Atlantic coast of France and Spain in order to test the proposition that the N French and British populations belong to a separate sub-species (septentrionalis) (J Morere and A Livory, L'Argiope 23: 29-37)
Action targets: 1. Taxonomy established
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites:
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.