Stag beetle road-kill surveys form part of the research being undertaken for the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, through Royal Holloway University of London, to determine not only the biology and ecology of the insect but also methods for monitoring its populations.
Data
collected over a four year period (2000-2003) strongly suggest that annual stag
beetle road-kill surveys can be used to monitor the insects’ abundance. Further
evidence is required, however, before we can be certain that the methodology is
reliable. The nature of the road-kill research is such that it is heavily
dependent on volunteer support. Without this help the amount of data collected
annually would be severely limited. Volunteer support in the county has been
extremely good. In fact, Suffolk has produced more assistance for this project than
any other county. Can we come up trumps again?
Volunteers are urgently required for this year’s survey.
If you can help, please contact;
Colin Hawes at
3 Silver Leys, Bentley,
Ipswich , IP9 2BS ,
Telephone: 01473 310678,
or email colinjhawes@btopenworld.com
Records are required of all stag beetle sightings made in 2004. Please send them directly to me (they will be forwarded to the SBRC and the PTES) and include the date and location of the sightings (a grid reference and postcode is also helpful) and your name and address. A telephone contact number is also useful if there are any queries.
Stag beetle corpses required
Stag beetle corpses are required for DNA studies being carried out at RHUL. Corpses will also be measured in a study of size variation among the beetles. Please send any corpses found to Colin Hawes (put each corpse, or part of corpse, in a separate sealed container e.g. polythene bag, envelope, film canister, with a note of the site and date when found). Corpses can be sent in one batch at the end of a season.
Stag beetle biology
Our knowledge of stag beetle biology has, until recently, contained numerous gaps. However, many of those gaps have now been filled thanks to research carried out by PhD student Deborah Harvey at RHUL. The outcome of part of her research can be read in “The Private Life of the Stag Beetle” (Harvey, D. and Gange, A. Bulletin of the Amateur Entomologists’ Society Vol 62 December 2003).
Colin Hawes, Suffolk lead partner biodiversity action plan for the stag beetle
© 2004 Suffolk Naturalists' Society