A rare beetle never previously spotted in Norfolk before has been found by a university student in the south of the county while collecting samples for her dissertation.
Cecily Bradbury was completing insect surveys at Dickleburgh Moor Nature Reserve as part of her Reading University course when she discovered an aleocharine rove beetle -Amarochara Forticornis
Miss Bradbury was completing a three-month placement with the Otter Trust and had decided to place a series of pitfall traps at Dickleburgh Moor Nature Reserve, near Diss.
She said: "At the time I had no idea what the significance of what I had found was.
"But the specialist I was working with suddenly became very excited when he identified it, he told me that the tiny crawling rove beetle was very rare and had never been found in Norfolk.
"I was delighted to learn of the rarity of the beetle in the area as it makes for very interesting writing for my dissertation.
"My degree is my passion and I find it so interesting."
Norfolk entomologist Steve Lane was working with Miss Bradbury and identified the beetle found as Amarochara Forticornis, a nationally rare aleocharine rove beetle.
Ben Greif, director of conservation and education at Dickleburgh Moor, said due to the beetle's small size it is hardly a surprise it is 'seldom seen'.
"This is a species of tiny, reddish-coloured rove beetle of obscure ecology which is significantly rare in Britain.
"It's 3.5 mm long and lives underground, so it's not surprising that it's seldom seen,” Mr Grief said.
This species of rove beetle has been recorded at sites in Wiltshire, the Isle of Wight, East and West Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, East Suffolk and East Sussex.
But it has never before been recorded in Norfolk.
Mr Grief said: “Some insects have very specific requirements.
"The amarochara was discovered on a small area of sandy, rabbit-grazed ground on our northern boundary.
"We will be conducting further surveys in 2023 and are looking forward to lots of new discoveries.”
In June the Bagous Collignensis was found in a ditch. It was only the third time the insect had been seen in Norfolk, with the last sighting coming at Horning nearly 100 years ago.
The Otter Trust is based at Earsham, near Bungay and runs the Dickleburgh site.
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