Saving the small things that run the planetThe Blue Ground Beetle (Carabus intricatus) is Britain’s largest ground beetle, and is also one of the rarest. Our Dartmoor Blue Ground Beetle Project is looking to find new sites for this beautiful beetle in the South West.
Update November 2022: We are thrilled to announce that two new populations of the rare Blue Ground Beetle (Carabus intricatus) have been found on Dartmoor; a third site in Cornwall is also much larger than we originally thought. Find out more
The Blue Ground Beetle makes its home in damp, deciduous, often ancient, woodlands of oak and beech, usually living on south-facing slopes in areas with sparce ground vegetation and abundant veteran trees and dead wood. This beetle was thought to be extinct in the UK, until in 1994, when a population was discovered on a site on Dartmoor.
More populations were found around Dartmoor and mid Cornwall, but the beetle remained restricted to South West England until the discovery in 2012 of a population in South Wales. Please see our Welsh Blue Ground Beetle project page for more information on this incredible discovery.
Adult Blue Ground Beetles are mainly nocturnal and occur year-round, although they are most active and easiest to see from March until June. Both the adults and their larvae feed on slugs – most notably the Tree Slug (Limax marginatus) and the Ash-black Slug (Limax cinereoniger). Adults can be found during these months climbing on mossy tree trunks within the woodlands.
There’s still a lot we need to learn about the ecology of the Blue Ground Beetle, and its habitat requirements. Our Dartmoor Blue Ground Beetle project will improve our understanding of the extent and health of Dartmoor’s population, undertaking surveys for the beetle, within ancient woodland fragments across Dartmoor. We are working in partnership with Dartmoor National Park Authority, The University of Exeter and local naturalist John Walters.
This project has been made possible because of the ongoing support from Papillon Gin, who kindly donate £2 from every bottle of their award-winning Carabus Gin towards helping the Blue Ground Beetle on Dartmoor.
