Oil Beetles are my subject today. The Invertebrate Conservation Trust, Buglife, has launched its Oil Beetle survey and we have been out looking in earnest. www.buglife.org.uk/getinvolved/surveys/Oil+Beetle+Hunt
The sad fact is that we had eight species of Oil Beetles in our countryside, now we only have four and even those are all threatened. They are what we call an indicator species which means they rely on other species and their population tells us a great deal about the health of ecosystems around us. They are therefore featured in part of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, www.ukbap.org.uk
We were suitably chuffed with ourselves when we found five Black Oil Beetles Meloe proscarabeus in less than an hour, all beside farm tracks and all females digging in to lay their precious eggs. Great little life cycle these guys have. The adults only live for a short period eating leaves and petals. After mating the female literally drags her huge abdomen along the ground and digs burrows for her eggs. She lays loads to hedge her bets, up to one thousand! The larvae hatch and immediately run up the nearest flower stems to hitch a ride on unaware Solitary Bees. These chaps then drop off in the bees nest and live off its eggs, pollen and nectar store before pupating over the winter and emerging as an adult the following spring. The decline in Oil Beetles ties directly in with the Solitary Bee population and how they are surviving. Its just like one giant jigsaw puzzel and you can not make it with pieces missing, no matter how hard you try. They really are a gorgeous beetle and a great start to the year. Yep, definitely pleased to see them here again this year....
This female Black Oil Beetle is heavy with eggs and trying to find somewhere she can start digging.
No comments:
Post a Comment