A rare beetle has been found breeding in Wales for the first time in nearly 60 years, according to Natural Resources Wales.
The short-necked oil beetle was discovered at the Castlemartin range in Pembrokeshire during a 2026 survey. Earlier surveys in 2022 and 2025 found only dead adults, prompting concerns about whether the population could survive.
This time, surveyors found larvae spread across the site in a pattern suggesting that a larger group of young beetles had successfully hatched and survived. The species is classed as nationally rare and was pushed close to extinction in Britain by habitat loss during the 20th century.
A complicated life cycle
The beetle depends on thick vegetation, flowering plants and solitary bees. Its larvae use hook-like feet to attach themselves to bees, travelling back to their nests where they feed on stored pollen before emerging as adults.
Adults are known for releasing an oily yellow-orange substance from their knee joints when alarmed ā the trait that gives the āoil beetleā its name.
The Pembrokeshire work forms part of Natur am Byth, Walesās flagship species recovery programme. Conservation efforts also support other threatened species sharing the same habitat, including the shrill carder bee, goldilocks aster and pale dog violet.
Why it matters for Britain
The discovery suggests that careful habitat management can help rare insects recover, even after long periods without signs of successful breeding. Protecting the beetleās habitat also benefits solitary bees and other endangered plants and animals in Pembrokeshire.
