Heather Beetles 2015

Heather beetles in Dorset last week (image: Charles Hartley)

The last few weeks have been warm enough to wake up hibernating heather beetles across the U.K., and the first reports have started to come in to us about the mass dispersal of adult beetles. Thousands were spotted on the wing in Brownsea Island and Studland in Dorset, and customers at the House of Bruar near Pitlochry reported beetles flying en masse towards the end of last week. 

Heather beetles hibernate deep in the undergrowth during the winter, and they emerge when the average daily temperature exceeds around 8°C. Heather beetles have well developed wings and muscles, but they tend to let the wind do most of the work when it comes to dispersal. Depending on the prevailing conditions on the day, they can travel over long distances in search of new breeding habitats. While there is no precise information relating to how far beetles can travel, it is likely that they can fly for a several miles if the wind is behind them. 

Once settled in their new habitats, beetles will mate and lay eggs. Most of the adults will die by the time that the eggs hatch in June or July, and the real heather damage is caused by the larvae towards the end of the summer.

The Heather Trust is leading the way on research into heather beetles in Britain, and our projects in the Peak District and at Langholm Moor aim to provide gamekeepers and land managers with practical, hands-on answers to help them manage the effects of heather beetle damage. We have run a survey of heather beetle damage for several years, and we are now looking for information about heather beetles in 2015.

If you notice adult heather beetles dispersing over the next few weeks, please let us know by sending us an email or getting in touch by phone. More information on recognising beetles is available on the Trust's beetle page. We will be circulating our heather beetle survey forms to gather information about damage caused over the summer as the year progresses, and the results from these surveys help us to piece together more information about the nature of beetle outbreaks. 

Survey returns are plotted on a map, and we have just received one of the last returns from 2014; a mixed year for heather beetle damage from Cornwall to Wester Ross.