Species Account for Odacantha melanura
PLEASE NOTE, many records in this group are not yet available
Odacantha melanura (Linnaeus, 1767)
Coleoptera: Carabidae
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Taxonomic group: beetles (Coleoptera) - Available county data
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Status: NS
Essex RDB: Listed
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Essex Red Data List comment
Essex 1950-1969 record/s; VC18 pre-1970 record/s.
Species text
The ground beetle Odacantha melanura is attractively patterned in red and metallic blue. There are widely distributed records in southern and eastern England and South Wales, but many records in Luff (1998) are pre-1970 and only a single modern record is shown in Essex for TQ78, the same 10km square as Pitsea Marshes. The species is probably predatory and is found in fens, marshes, broads, grazing levels and the margins of standing water. It is predominantly associated with reed in reed beds, where it can be found under the outer, dead sheathing leaves of the flowering stems. Also amongst bulrushes, particularly in the dead stems. Threates include falling water tables because of water abstraction and water tables should be maintained at high levels. Water bodies should be isolated from sources of eutrophication and pollution (Hyman & Parsons, 1992). References
Habitats
Recorded management for locations with Odacantha melanura
Recorded substrate and hydrology for locations with Odacantha melanura
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Interpretation of distribution maps