With the minimum of preparation I set off on a vague search for the very rare and endangered Tansy Beetle Chrysolina graminis on the River Ouse around York. It didn't help that I was searching for a plant with which I was not familiar, looking for a ragwort type plant with tight yellow flowers not even realising they do not flower until late summer.... Based on all that it was amazing that I did actually find the plant and some 30+ beetles. What a cracking little beastie, a beautiful iridescent green and only c.10mm long!
The Tansy Beetle was once widespread in the UK living in wetland areas, they are now found along the banks of a 30km stretch of the River Ouse around York, with a much smaller population recently discovered in Cambridgeshire. In 2016 the York population was found to be c.40,000 individuals which sounds a lot, but when you consider how vulnerable the population is all in one small area that frequently floods this is a precarious situation.
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| River Ouse, near Fulford |
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| Tansy plant in foreground |
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| Tansy Beetle Chrysolina graminis |
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| mating pair |
The Tansy Beetle was once widespread in the UK living in wetland areas, they are now found along the banks of a 30km stretch of the River Ouse around York, with a much smaller population recently discovered in Cambridgeshire. In 2016 the York population was found to be c.40,000 individuals which sounds a lot, but when you consider how vulnerable the population is all in one small area that frequently floods this is a precarious situation.
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| Orange-tip butterfly |
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| Cardinal Beetle Pyrochroa serraticornis |
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