Beetle that's been 'extinct' for 58 years.Byline: By RICHARD SMITH A BEETLE species thought to have died out in Britain in 1948 has been found thriving. Forty short-necked oil beetles were discovered more than 200 miles from the spot they were last sighted at nearly 60 years ago. Oil beetles were once common but their natural habitats and the populations of young bees used to feed its larvae Larvae, in Roman religion Larvae: see lemures. have been decimated by intensive farming Intensive farming or intensive agriculture is an agricultural production system characterized by the high inputs of capital or labour relative to land area.[1][2] . The beetle turned up on farmland owned by the National Trust near Salcombe, South Devon South Devon a red, dual-purpose breed of cattle. Called also Devon. . The species was last seen in Sussex. The organisation's head of conservation, David Bullock, said: "The discovery is an amazing story of survival." He added: "It's likely that this population of the short-necked oil beetles has survived because they inhabit an area of land that has avoided the intensive farming methods on surrounding land." richard.smith@mirror.co.uk |
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