The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.
Range & Status
Widely but very sparingly scattered across lowland southern and eastern England.
Regional Distribution
Discovered ' near Zennor' in 1976, when seven adults were found by D. Hemingway in a tree stump adjacent to the hedgeline in a narrow lane. It seems most likely that this was an accidental introduction with timber as such a large and conspicuous insect would not escape attention.
Habitat & Ecology
The larvae develop in large items of relatively soft decaying timber, especially Beech
Fagus sylvatica . Usually associated with ancient woodlands and pasture-woodlands.
Threats
Clearance of decaying timber, and lack of new generations of host trees.
Conservation
General deadwood conservation measures.
I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.
The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.