Shining Pot-beetle
Fast Facts
Latin name: Cryptocephalus nitidulus
Notable feature: A small, metallic blue or green beetle with yellow legs and a bulging pronotum that almost covers the head, giving them a distinctive shape
Conservation Status: Endangered
Where in the UK: Recently only recorded on the North Downs in Surrey
Shining Pot-beetle (Cryptocephalus nitidulus) © Roger Key - 1024 x 680px
The Shining Pot-beetle (Cryptocephalus nitidulus) is a small beetle, native to the UK. It was previously known from scattered locations in southern England, but is now known from just a few sites on the North Downs in Surrey.
They have a shiny blue or green metallic colour and yellow legs. As with other of all Cryptocephalus beetles, the pronotum bulges and almost covers the head, giving them a distinctive shape. They also have a broad, yellow heart-shaped mark on the frons (the front part of the head, between the eyes).
The Shining Pot-beetle depends on mid-successional, transitional habitats (where two different ecological habitats meet and merge), such as grass/scrub mosaics or woodland edge ecotones. It is particularly associated with Silver Birch (Betula pendula) and Hazel (Corylus avellana), often on chalk grassland. Over the years, this habitat has become fragmented and much reduced. This may be due to excessive clearance of scrub to promote grassland habitats, or the lack of management leading to taller denser scrub, which is an unsuitable habitat for this species.
- Size: 3.5 to 5mm long
- Life span: A two-year life cycle, the adult stage lasts just a few weeks.
- Diet: The larvae feed on the fallen leaves of Birch and Hazel, and adults may also feed on pollen.
- Reproduction: Adults lay their eggs in their ’pot’, which falls to the ground, where the larvae hatch and feed on leaf litter while remaining in their pot. This larval stage may last two years before the larva pupate within their pot and emerge as an adult the following spring.
- When to see: Adults can be found from mid-May to the end of June.
- Population Trend: Declined, previously known from scattered locations in southern England, now known from just a few sites on the North Downs in Surrey.
- Threats: Loss and fragmentation of the appropriate mosaic of birch and hazel scrub on chalk grassland, in warm and sunny conditions, is the biggest threat to this species.
- Interesting Fact: The larvae live in a pot constructed from the adult’s droppings.
In 2026, Buglife’s Chalk Lines project kicked off in the Surrey Hills National Landscape, aiming to restore and enhance chalk grassland for seven rare and threatened invertebrate species, including the Shining Pot-beetle.
While Buglife continues to work to increase awareness of invertebrates and support nature’s recovery through our projects and campaigns, we need your help! You can support our work by joining the Buglife community. You can also join a recording scheme and log your finds – download the iRecord app and get recording!
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