'Action for Invertebrates' is a partnership project between RSPB, Butterfly Conservation, Natural England and Buglife, contributing to the delivery of the UK’s Biodiversity Action Plan.
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| Crystal moss animal
( Lophopus crystallinus )
© Micrograhia |
The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) contains a series of Action Plans for the most endangered species in the UK. For each animal or plant listed as a priority species in the UK BAP, a Lead Partner, usually a Non-Governmental Organisation, works with the species Contact Point, a Government Agency, to take formal responsibility for a species, and its BAP actions and targets. These can include improving ecological understanding and ensuring that its populations are in favourable condition.
'Action for Invertebrates' was initiated to ensure that there was a Lead Partner for some of the invertebrates that might otherwise not attract one. The initial three year phase focused on nine invertebrates that otherwise lacked Lead Partners.
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| Early sunshiner
( Amara famelica )
© Ian Middlebrook |
- Early sunshiner ( Amara famelica ) , a ground beetle on heathland.
- Saltmarsh shortspur (Anisodactylus poeciloides) , a ground beetle of saltmarsh and brackish ditches. Thames Estuary and Hampshire.
- Chestnut click beetle (Anostirus castaneus) , a beetle of loose sand soil as on cliffs.
- Melanotus punctolineatus , a click beetle of dunes, East Kent and South Essex.
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| Spangled diving beetle
( Graphorus zonatus )
© Roger Key |
- Brown diving beetle (Agabus brunneus) , a water beetle of small gravel streams. Mainly West Cornwall and New Forest.
- Spangled diving beetle (Graphoderus zonatus) , of a pond in Woolmer Forest, Hants.
- Lesser silver water beetle (Hydrochara caraboides) , of ponds in Cheshire and ditches in Somerset.
- Northern February red (Brachyptera putata) , an endemic stonefly of the upper and middle reaches of large rivers. Mainly Scotland but also Rivers Usk and Wye.
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| Northern February red
( Brachyptera putata )
© Mike Hammett |
- Crystal moss-animal (Lophopus crystallinus) , a freshwater bryozoan of calcareous areas, North Lincolnshire and Oxon, but other areas worth search.
Surveys were carried out for all of these species and information has been produced in progress reports.
A second three year phase began in 2003, when the project list was revised. The Balfour-Browne Club has taken over as Lead Partner for the three water beetles. The Early sunshiner (Amara famelica) was not found during extensive surveys, so no further work is planned on that species without fresh records. Therefore, three substitute species have been adopted:
- Hairy click beetle (Synaptus filiformis) , a beetle of river banks. Somerset.
- Phantom hoverfly (Doros profuges) , a species of grassland/scrub and woodland edge.
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| Hairy click beetle
( Synaptus filiformis )
© Frank Koehler |
- Scarce yellow splinter (Lipsothrix nigristigma) , a cranefly of fallen wood in streams. Welsh Borders and S. Lancs.
The project leader is Craig Macadam. He has arranged specialist studies and will be pleased to hear from anyone who has useful knowledge and experience on the above species. For some species it would be useful to have volunteers to assist in monitoring populations and site condition.
Contact details are:-
Craig Macadam, ‘Action for Invertebrates’, Buglife – The Invertebrate Conservation Trust, Balallan House, 24 Allan Park, Stirling, FK8 2QG
Tel. 01786 447504
