Help us find the Chestnut click beetle

The Chestnut click beetle (Anostirus castaneus) is only found at two locations in Britain: an area of soft cliffs on the Isle of Wight and at Birk Crag near Harrogate.

Chestnut click beetle (Anostirus castaneus) © Ian Middlebrook

This spring Buglife is organising a survey to look for the beetle at Birk Crag to confirm that it still exists there. Recent surveys have failed to find the beetle near Harrogate, due to bad weather and the species being pretty elusive.

This year Buglife are hoping for better weather during the survey period and hope that the beetles will be more active and easier to find. To improve the chances of finding a beetle Harrogate Borough Council has been managing the site with the click beetles in mind.

The survey will be held on Saturday 1 May at Birk Crag. We will be meeting at the Harrogate Arms at 1pm (Harrogate Arms, Crag Lane, Beckwithshaw, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 1QA. The pub is behind Harlow Carr Gardens) before heading out to the Crag.