Help urged to protect rare beetle

The beetle appears for just three weeks during May and June

Scientists want help in unravelling the mysterious life of a rare beetle.

The scarlet malachite beetle is only found at eight sites across Essex, Hertfordshire and Hampshire.

The 7mm green and red bug appears for just three weeks in May and June and a decline in numbers has raised concern the insect could die out.

The Peterborough-based Buglife trust is asking people to look out for the elusive beetle on uncut flower meadows, verges, hedges and village greens.

The Buglife appeal is part of a survey which is being conducted by researchers from the University of East Anglia, where MSc student Robert Coleman is looking into the beetle's distribution and ecology.

SCARLET MALACHITE BEETLE The beetle is only found in places that have changed very little in the past 50 years Its presence or absence could tell us about the health of our modern countryside As a larva it may live in dead wood or in thatched roofs - no-one is sure They like the sun, so are unlikely to be seen on cold, wet or cloudy days

The search for new sites started when the first scarlet malachite beetles of the year emerged at the weekend.

In Essex, it has been found in the villages of Clavering, Stickling Green and Lower Langley Green; in Herts, it has been found at Bassus Green, Benington and Wood End to the east of Stevenage.

"Numbers have declined rapidly in recent years, and there is a real danger that if we don't find out more about it soon, it may well become extinct," a Buglife spokesman said.

"That's why we need your help to track it down, especially on new sites where it hasn't been seen before.

"On sunny days in May and June the adult beetles can be spotted on flowers such as cow parsley and buttercups or on grass heads. We know that it likes the sun, so you probably won't find it in the shade."

The scarlet malachite beetle (Malachius aeneus) is listed on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, which means it is a species of concern requiring special conservation effort.

Buglife, the Invertebrate Conservation Trust, is the first organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates, and is actively engaged in saving Britain's rarest bees, butterflies, ants, spiders, beetles and many more invertebrates.

It was launched in April 2004.