Many beetles in Britain have gone missing, possibly extinct.

British beetles that have gone missing, possibly extinct.

• The Pashford pot beetle (Cryptocephalus exiguus) has historically been known from several wetlands, but the most recent records have been from Pashford Poors Fen an SSSI in Suffolk. Agricultural drainage associated with the surrounding arable fields has left this tiny wildlife site dry and many of the wetland plants such as Bog myrtle have already gone extinct. The Pashford pot beetle has not been seen for at least four years and experts fear it has gone as well.
• The Four-signed ground beetle (Dromius quadrisignatus) runs around on big tree trunks at night. Once found in several ancient woodlands, the last record was in Bushy Park in London in 1987.
• The Sussex diving beetle (Laccophilus poecilus) was common in ditches on the Lewes Levels in the 1970s but steadily declined and was last seen in 2002. It has not been found in subsequent searches. Experts fear that the source of water for the ditches is polluted by the runoff from a new road. This beetle has not been seen at its Yorkshire sites for many years.
• The Familiar sunshiner (Amara famelica) has never been found in numbers. Where it breeds is a mystery – last seen 1997.
• The Giant Capricorn beetle was thought to be extinct in Britain, until in June 2006 a carpenter in Wales found one on an oak timber.