Extremely rare beetle rediscovered in Cambridgeshire
23 May 2008
One of the rarest varieties of beetle in the UK has been rediscovered at a nature reserve in Cambridgeshire after being absent for more than half a century.
The National Trust explains that the Crucifix Beetle was thought to live in only three places across the UK - and had not been seen for a decade at one of them.
However, after last being seen at Wicken Fen in 1951, the beetle - which was considered as a great prize by Victorian entomologists - has been rediscovered.
Stuart Warrington, the National Trust Nature Conservation Advisor who found the insect, notes that the Crucifix Beetle is the rarest species he has ever seen, and likens it to the equivalent of a Bittern for ornithologists in terms of rarity.
"To say that I was surprised and excited to have found it during one of my regular surveys at Wicken Fen is an understatement," he adds.
People touring the region may be interested to learn that Wicken Fen contains the last 0.1 per cent of fenlands left in Britain and is also home to wild ponies, rare butterflies and otters.
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