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Saturday 11 November 2017
Penge Green Gym Newsletter Late Autumn 2017
Wednesday 8 November 2017
Stag Hunting in Suburbia
Stag Hunting in Suburbia
If you mention rare and
endangered species, then one might think of hunters and poachers in tropical
climates. However, there are endangered species found much closer to home, some
are even in our own gardens.
An Endangered Species?
…In MY garden?
An endangered
species is a species which has been categorised as very likely to
become extinct. So, it comes as a
surprise when you find them in your own garden! However, when determining the
conservation status of a species many factors are involved, not only the number
remaining, but the overall increase and decrease over time, breeding rates,
loss of habitat through climate change and urbanisation, and other known
threats.
Stag Beetles (Lucanus cervus) are the largest terrestrial beetles in the
UK (Only the Great Silver Water Beetle is larger.) Once common throughout
Europe and southern Britain they have become extinct in some countries and are
globally-endangered. Despite a steep decline in numbers throughout Europe, recent
sightings of Stag Beetles, such as from the GiGL map for 2017, show that
south-east and south-west London are particular hot spots. In south and
south-east London the pattern is consistent with the extent of the old Great North Wood or Norwood, which once
stretched from Selhurst to Deptford, covering the Sydenham Ridge and the
tributaries of the Rivers Effra and Ravensbourne in an oak forest. Indeed, the
first recorded sighting of a Stag Beetle was apparently made somewhere near
Anerley around 1899.
Three London sites are
European Special Areas for Conservation for Stag Beetles. These are Epping
Forest, Richmond Park, and Wimbledon and Putney Commons. In south London, the
@greatnorthwood project will set hundreds of volunteers to work to help make
south London's woodlands more Stag Beetle friendly.
At the Penge Green Gym in Anerley, we frequently see Stag Beetles
while gardening either in our own home gardens, or while volunteering in Winsford Gardens, Penge. From June to August, is the best time of the year to see the
adult beetles, on sultry summer evenings. The male beetles can fly very
clumsily, making a faint clattering whirr. They are between 5cm and 8cm long,
and the males have very large, antler-shaped jaws. The females lack the antlers
and have smaller jaws.
Gardeners may accidently
disturb the larvae (grubs) when clearing up or moving dead wood around the
garden. Stag beetles spend most of their lives as larvae inside dead wood such
as tree stumps and cut logs. It takes them between 4 and 7 years to grow into
an adult. They have an important role to play in eating and breaking down dead
wood.
The Decline in Numbers
The decline in numbers has
been partly attributed to tidy gardens, parks and greenspaces, so we can help
these creatures by leaving dead wood in situ for them and by not removing tree
stumps, so that the larvae have somewhere to grow. You can also build loggeries
such as those in Winsford Gardens, where tree trunks and branches are dug
vertically into the ground and allowed to rot.
Stag beetles may also be deliberately
killed in the mistaken belief they are pests, and road traffic, gardener’s feet,
pet cats and other predators also lead to accidental losses.
There is plenty you can do
to help them in your garden, so please think about leaving your garden a little
more untidy and leaving that pile of logs in the corner.
David Fergusson
@GreenGymPenge
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