Help! Beetles need you - here's what you can do

The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) wants to find out how many endangered stag beetles there are in Yorkshire.

The wildlife charity is asking people to undertake a 500-metre walk six times in June and July on warm evenings and to count the number of stag beetles they see for the European Stag Beetle Monitoring Network.

And it shouldn’t be difficult to spot the mighty beasts as they grow up to seven-and-a-half centimetres in length and have mega mandibles.

They are Britain’s largest land beetle but are harmless if left alone.

To find out more and submit sightings visit www.stagbeetlemonitoring.org.

The charity also wants people to send sightings directly to it through its annual Great Stag Hunt at www.ptes.org/gsh, and if possible, take a photo to help conservationists at PTES verify sightings.

The charity is also urging people with a garden to help the beetles by creating a log pile and leaving plenty of dead wood for them.

Laura Bower, conservation officer at PTES, said: “Loss of habitat and lack of dead or decaying wood are just two of the reasons why stag beetles need our help.

“Stag beetles are completely reliant on dead wood, either partially or completely buried, and are part of the process of recycling nutrients back into the soil, making them a very important part of the ecosystem.

“They mainly live in Britain’s gardens, parks, woodland edges and traditional orchards, and were once widespread throughout Europe.

“We hope that by taking part in this European survey, PTES’ annual Great Stag Hunt, and by making gardens stag beetle friendly, the public can help reverse the decline of this iconic insect.”