Cornish Shieldbug (Geotomus punctulatus)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - true bug (Hemiptera) > Shield bug or ally |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered (Not Relevant) [CR(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: | Geotomus punctulatus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (A. Costa, 1847) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Bantock, 2016 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Confined to a single site in England, Whitesands Bay/Sennen Cove in Cornwall where it has been known since the 19th century. There is no immediate threat to this population which remains strong and is clearly resilient given its long history. The species is recorded almost annually by visiting entomologists and in considerable numbers on some occasions. In 1999 and 2000, survey work for further colonies was undertaken across a large number of suitable sand dune sites in Cornwall and on the Isles of Scilly without success. On this basis, the species is not currently a suitable candidate for recovery actions. It should be noted that the closely related G. petiti has recently colonised Britain; it is not inconceivable that G. punctulatus might also undergo natural range expansion from the near continent in the future. It is present in the Channel Islands. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Being restricted to one site suggest that it has particular requirements. |
| 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: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Ascertain full autecology.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Sennen Cove
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Ascertain level of threat to the Sennan Cove population from sea level rise.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Sennen Cove
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: If Action 2 concludes that the Sennen Cove population is under threat then undertake translocation feasibility study to understand other sites where populations could be translocated to.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: (Re-)introduction
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: SW England
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.