2.3 Beetles

Here, I want to look at the distribution of beetles, in particular the carnivorous Carabidae.

What researchers at the ECN found is that rising temperatures seem to be affecting different populations of beetles in different parts of the country in very different ways. The trend is for an increase in carabid numbers in the lowlands, the south and the east, and a decrease in population in other monitoring sites – in particular in the uplands and the north. The researchers noted that temperature increases in the northern sites were relatively more pronounced. They also noted that northern and upland species may be much more sensitive to changes in temperature.

For more information on this and information on a range of other organisms, see the 2009 ECN report.