Where are Londons stag beetles?
The stag beetle has recently been recorded from most London boroughs, but it appears to be significantly more common in the south and west of London, in areas such as Lewisham, Beckenham, Dulwich, Wandsworth, and Richmond. Rarely found in central London, through lack of appropriate habitats, it is also surprisingly very uncommon or absent in the north-west and parts of north-east London although there are clusters of records in places such as Winchmore Hill and Hornchurch. The reasons for this uneven distribution are the subject of current research. Why the need for action? The numbers of stag beetles have declined since the 1940s and their UK distribution has contracted from a large swathe of southern England and Wales. Recent surveys suggest that they are now more restricted to the south-east, with concentrations along the Thames Valley, in north-east Essex/Suffolk, and the New Forest. Perhaps surprisingly London is one such ‘hot-spot’, and is nationally significant for the stag beet
