The Heather Trust’s heather beetle summary 2017

In 2017, we received 38 reports from across the UK about locations where heather beetle outbreaks had been occurred or beetle damage discovered.

The collection of data for this survey started in 2006, and we would like to thank all those who responded to our requests for information during 2017.  Their support has allowed this unique information resource to develop further.  

The 38 locations have been plotted on a map (below) and show a large sweep of outbreaks across Northern England and the Eastern Highlands of Scotland, running from Llanthony Valley on the Welsh Marches to Langwell Estate in Caithness.

The surveys record damage to approximately 10,000 acres of heather. This is comparable to 2012 and 2013, but considerably less than 2011 when we recorded 28,500 acres of beetle damage and 2014, which produced records of 20,000 acres of damage.

In general terms, damage was equally distributed between young and old heather. Particular clusters are identifiable in the Trough of Bowland, Central Perthshire and the North Pennines, with other outbreaks grouped in Powys and the Peak District.

After several years of heather beetle damage in the West Country, there were no returns at all in 2017. This might be interpreted as a failure to record damage, but three survey returns recorded ”no damage” in 2017, and follow up phone calls to contacts on Dartmoor suggest that beetle was either absent or present at an imperceptibly low level.

Another notable absence includes the North York Moors. In previous years, the North York Moors have been a significant location for beetle (a small area of the NYMs suffered 15% of all recorded damage in the UK in 2014).

In 2017, the survey form was expanded to include questions regarding heather beetle in relation to wet ground, in an effort to establish whether or not there was any link between heather beetle outbreaks and areas where re-wetting was in progress as part of peatland restoration. While some of the survey returns recorded beetle damage on ground that had been re-wetted, there was no obvious trend linking the two. It will be useful to remain in touch with the estates with beetle outbreaks that area also involved with re-wetting programmes to find how/if wetter ground has an impact on heather regeneration in subsequent growing seasons.

Although it is not exclusively the case, the survey forms suggest that heather requires active management in order to recover fully from heather beetle damage, even if this is simply a continuation of existing heather management plans.

The best way to regenerate heather after a heather beetle attack is the subject of two trials that we will be reporting on in about 12 months time.  The work at Langholm is complete, but the final habitat survey, as part of the trial in the Peak District, takes place next summer.  We plan to report on the findings from both trials and incorporate the results of the survey. 2018 will be the last year of the beetle survey, and we hope to publish all of our findings early in 2019.