Natural England have recently contracted Jim Flanagan and Tristan Bantock, the two organisers of the recording schemes covering terrestrial bugs (Heteroptera) for Britain and Ireland, to undertake the first phase of this IUCN status review ( IUCN Red List assessments for previously unassessed groups – GB IUCN Red List for the Lygaeoidea (‘Seed bugs’) – Phase 1,  SRP031). The Lygaeoidea also includes the beet bugs in the Piesmatidae and the stiltbugs in the Berytidae as well as several subfamilies now raised to family status, the largest of which is the Rhyparochromidae.  The last status review of these groups was  published within a larger study of Hemiptera in 1992 by Peter Kirby and many changes have taken place in the status of many of these species so an up to date review such as this one for the Lygaeoidea is much needed.

This first phase of work will focus mainly on collecting and compiling records additional to those that the recording scheme currently hold (27,000) and to produce an initial sample of ten species reviews. The second phase of work is scheduled to start from March 2025 which will involve records analysis and eventual completion of the status review at the end of 2025/early 2026.

The status reviewers would very much appreciate receiving any seedbugs records from entomologists, ecologists and naturalists who occasionally or regularly record these in their field work/visits. Recorders are encouraged to submit their records through iRecord where they will be verified/downloaded to the review dataset. Alternatively, records can be sent direct to Tristan or Jim using the emails on the British Bugs website (records@britishbugs.co.uk and jimflanagan@btopenworld.com). Records will be accepted up to the year 2024.