Blood red longhorn beetle

Longhorn beetles play important roles in forests, breaking down dead and decaying wood as larvae, and pollinating forest plants as adults. They’re also an incredibly charismatic group of beetles, with often impractically log antennae and colourful patterning. In spite of their ecological importance and on-point fashion sense, many species of longhorns are in danger of disappearing from UK forests.

The blood red longhorn beetle (Anastrangalia sanguinolenta) is one of the smaller species of longhorns, but it’s very striking. Females are slightly larger and have the bright red colour that gives the species its name, while males sport a more muted amber colouration. Females lay their eggs in rotten Scots pine wood where the larvae feed and grow for up to two years.

The fate of this beetle in the UK currently hangs in the balance. Classed as Critically Endangered in the UK, blood red longhorns are currently thought to be restricted to a small area of Strathspey in the Cairngorms National Park. However, there has not been a comprehensive survey of the species since the 1970s.

Our work on this species has two strands. We want to understand more about where this species is actually found and develop a conservation breeding for release programme for the beetles. We are using citizen science surveys featuring the help of amazing local volunteers to better understand where this species is found and learn more about what it needs to survive in the wild.

At the same time, we are running a small, pilot conservation breeding programme for these beautiful beetles, to assess whether we will be able to run a large-scale conservation breeding programme to safeguard the species. Keep watching for updates as we grow this project and our understanding of this fabulous, but overlooked forest worker.