Species Account for Masoreus wetterhallii

Essex Red Data List comment
Essex Post-1969 record/s; VC18 pre-1970 record/s; VC19 1970-on record/s.

Species text
Masoreus wetterhalli is a reddish brown ground beetle. It is a southern species, from Cornwall to Norfolk, but is scarce known from only some twelve post-1970 10km squares nationally (Luff 1998) and the species probably deserves a higher conservation ranking than ?Na?. It has, apart from Breckland records, a coastal distribution. There are 19th century records for Southend and ?St Osyth? (Harwood records for this ?locality? often refer to the generally surrounding area, including Colne Point). Otherwise, M. wetterhalli is known in Essex only from Colne Point where R. Hider found it in the 1970s and P.R. Harvey collected it again in 1990-91 and 2004 surveys. It is a xerophilus species occurring on sand and gravel with sparse vegetation, often near the sea, such as sand dunes, coastal cliffs, coastal shingle, sea walls and on sparsely vegetated sand or gravel. Adults usually hide under mats of vegetation, and have also been found under pieces of old wood. Disturbance of coastal shingle should be avoided (Hyman & Parsons 1992). References

Habitats

Recorded substrate and hydrology for locations with Masoreus wetterhallii

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