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By Julianna Kettlewell
BBC News Online science staff
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The noble chafer likes to live in old orchards
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A wildlife charity is asking people to keep a look-out for the noble chafer beetle this summer in Britain's countryside.
The People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) is calling for the public to join a survey to establish the distribution of this rare insect.
The iridescent green bug is struggling because it lives in old orchards, which are being destroyed in the UK.
PTES also hopes to promote the maintenance of wildlife-rich orchards.
"It really is essential that we look out for these beautiful creatures," said Dr Valerie Keeble, chief executive of PTES. "Recent research has suggested that the fauna and flora of the UK's orchards are seriously threatened.
"If the public can contribute to conserving this unique beetle, they will also be helping to conserve a whole host of other orchard fauna that is of immense conservation value."
Slow decline
The noble chafer (Gnorimus nobilis) is a metallic bronze-green beetle of about 2cm in length. It spends most of its two-year existence in a larval stage, living in the rotting wood of ageing fruit trees.
During the second summer of its life, the noble chafer will emerge as an adult and engage in a brief flush of activity, breeding and feeding on flowers such as hogweed, before dying in the early autumn.
Noble chafers must be declining because they are losing their homes. But PTES would like to know how rapidly their populations are shrinking, and in which areas.
In 1999, PTES conducted a crude census. In other words, they paid someone to visit a collection of orchards and hunt for the insects.
Their surveyor found noble chafers in a handful of southern counties, including Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Oxfordshire. They have since produced a "noble chafer map", which sports black spots wherever the insects were found.
Join the dots
But one person can hardly paint an accurate picture of this rare beetle's distribution. So now the charity would like the public to join in and help "fill the gaps".
"It is a question of more people looking in more places," said Dr Keeble. "We want to fill in our map - it's a bit sparse at the moment and it could do with some more spots on it."
Dr Keeble wants people to keep their eyes open while on picnics or near fruit trees. And if they see an insect that fits the bill, they should take a photo or just call PTES and describe what they saw.
"If people have a camera handy then that would be great, because you can't argue with a photograph," she said. "If they don't have a camera they can just call us - we'll chat to them and find out if what they saw was a noble chafer."
Once the noble chafer's situation has been assessed, PTES hopes to encourage its protection.
The main problem facing the insect has been a change in agricultural practices. Old orchards are simply not very profitable and many have been "grubbed up" to make way for other crops.
At the moment, some farmers are subsidised under the UK government's Countryside Stewardship Scheme to maintain their orchards.
Policy change
But there are concerns that under new policy rules, things might change.
"We are worried that under the new policy farmers will lose the financial incentive to keep their orchards," said Dr Keeble. "We are all working very hard so that when the new rules come in it is still beneficial for farmers to keep their orchards - rather than dig them up and grow something else."
The key areas where noble chafers are thought to live
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And it is not just the noble chafer that will suffer if orchards go - many other animals also depend on them.
"Orchards are only just being recognised as really valuable wildlife habitats," said Dr Keeble. "We have to stop their decline - and highlighting noble chafers is one way to do it."
However, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is keen to point out its commitment to maintaining these valuable habitats.
"The government recognises the importance of traditional orchards, which are often of high conservation value, and rich in biodiversity," said a Defra spokesperson. "A large proportion of these orchards are already protected under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.
"Although the scheme is closed to new applications, similar schemes are expected to operate next year."
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It is a question of more people looking in more places
