Carline Thistle Leafhopper (Euscelis venosus)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - true bug (Hemiptera) > Bug |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Euscelis venosus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Kirschbaum, 1868) |
| 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: | Confined to southern England. Only two historical (pre-1970) sites known (Aston Rowant, Headley Warren); Aston Rowant has been well worked but no extant population detected; Headley Warren not checked. Modern records limited to one further site (St Catherine's Hill, Hants in 1993-4); re-checked in 2018 and 2022 but no individuals found. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Autecology not understood |
| 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: | May benefit from taller vegetation in ecotone between open chalk grassland and scrub. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Extinction debt |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Ecological requirements poorly understood. Host plant unknown, although Carlina vulgaris or other Asteraceae, have been suggested. Older literature and most recent record indicate association with taller/rank grassland vegetation on chalk. It may really only be found by suction sampling as it is likely it easily drops to the ground when disturbed. Worth deploying this technique. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Survey known sites and other comparable locations/habitats in their vicinity to assess national status. Utilise suction sampling.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: 3 known sites: St Catherine's Hill, Hants (most recent record, 1993), Aston Rowant (Oxon, 1969), Headley Warren (Surrey, 1968)
Comments: Focus survey attention on taller grassland areas within localities of species-rich chalk grassland .
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Autecological research to establish host plant(s), preferred (micro)habitat and optimal vegetation height/structure/composition. Refer to well understood botanical communities within which the host plant occurs.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: St Catherine's Hill, Hants (most recent record), Aston Rowant (Oxon), Headley Warren (Surrey)
Comments: Dependent on finding an extant population in Key Action-1
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Manage known chalk grassland sites to retain habitat mosaic that includes areas of taller vegetation.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: St Catherine's Hill (Hants), and any other sites found to have an extant population.
Comments: Dependent on finding an extant population in Key Action-1
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.