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
Local in the south of the British Isles (mainly on heathland in Dorset, Surrey and the New Forest), believed to be declining.
Regional Distribution
Status in Cornwall currently unknown, but not recorded here since before 1950. Also
recorded on the Isles of Scilly.
Habitat & Ecology
Associated with bare ground on dry, sandy heaths. Discarded food cans form ideal nesting sites in Surrey (Pontin, 2005).
Threats
Degradation of heathland, with the loss of bare ground suitable for nesting and increased uniformity of vegetational structure.
Conservation
Listed as a BAP species.
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.