Rare oil beetle found breeding in Wales after 60 years

The Short-Necked Oil Beetle, feared extinct in Wales, has been rediscovered in Pembrokeshire after about 60 years. After three years of searching at Castlemartin, experts found larvae, suggesting the species is breeding again. The beetle depends on solitary bees and flower-rich coastal habitat, is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and went unrecorded in the UK for decades after 1948.