Beacon Country Park is a 300 acre site across the slopes of Ashurst Beacon between Upholland, Dalton and Skelmersdale. The site consists of wildflower meadows, ponds, ditches, an orchard and areas of semi-natural woodland.
Notable Records:
Melandrya caraboides (Melandryidae), C. Washington
Archive Image: Udo Schmidt, 2017 (CC BY-SA)
- Adult found under loose bark.
- Possibly 1st VC59 record, with 306 other published UK records. The distribution is widespread across England and Wales (nbnatlas.org.uk).
- Not much is known of the ecology of this species, but most records are associated with dead or decaying wood of various broad-leaved trees, such as Oak, Beech, and Birch (eakringbirds.com). Other members of the family (termed False Darkling Beetles), are found under the bark, near or on fungi, or even on flowers (kerbtier.de)
- As its species name suggests, this very much resembles a ground beetle (Carabidae), but its large palps should easily distinguish it from any ground beetle species.
