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科学 · 稀有甲虫繁殖

卡斯特尔马丁发现稀有甲虫幼虫，带来希望——但并不能证明种群已恢复

在威尔士唯一已知的短颈油甲虫栖息地发现幼虫，为其繁殖提供了新的证据。它能否拥有稳固的未来，仍取决于支撑其生命周期的蜜蜂和花朵。

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HeyDex

原语言视频

译自英文原文。

发现幼年甲虫，是否意味着威尔士最稀有的油甲虫种群已安全？卡斯特尔马丁靶场的这项发现，比去年仅发现成虫尸体的调查结果更令人鼓舞。但它回答的是一个更有限的问题：目前有了繁殖的新证据，却还没有证据表明有足够多的甲虫存活下来，足以维持种群。⁠1

今年，调查人员在彭布罗克郡靶场的一小片区域内发现了短颈油甲虫幼虫；这是该物种在威尔士唯一已知的栖息地。此次发现是在连续三年搜索后取得的。威尔士自然资源局表示，幼虫的数量和分布情况表明，调查人员发现的可能是较大一批未成熟甲虫中孵化出来的一部分幼虫。⁠1⁠2

在近期调查结果令人沮丧的地点，这是一项意义重大的发现。大黄蜂保护信托的安妮·霍布斯称，显示繁殖活动重新出现的证据“非常令人振奋”，并感谢合作伙伴和志愿者在连续两年未发现幼虫后仍坚持调查。⁠1

为期三年的搜索和两年未有目击记录，描述的是这项工作的不同方面。两者都不意味着这种昆虫已经消失。未能找到一种数量稀少、体型微小的动物，并不能证明它不存在；然而，找到它的幼体，为保护工作者提供了比希望更为实在的依据。

繁殖证据，而非首次发现

最新发现还需要放在恰当的历史背景中理解。这并非首次有文献记录显示短颈油甲虫在卡斯特尔马丁繁殖。威尔士自然资源局此前的调查记录已证实，2022年在那里发现过幼虫。此次新发现是在近期一段空档之后，为这一证据增添了新的记录。⁠11

最新发现背后的威尔士记录

  1. 2015年6月

    林尼角记录到一只短颈油甲虫成虫。

    11
  2. 2022年

    一项卡斯特尔马丁靶场特别科学兴趣区调查在彭尼霍尔特湾发现一只成虫尸体和大量初龄幼虫，证实该物种在这一受保护区域内繁殖。

    11
  3. 2026年

    调查人员在连续三年搜索后，于卡斯特尔马丁靶场一小片区域内发现幼虫，为繁殖活动提供了新的证据。

    12

较早的调查描述了“大量三钩幼虫”——即这种甲虫能够活动的初龄幼虫——但其摘要没有给出具体数量。最新发布的资料同样没有提供确切的幼虫数量、种群估算或测得的变化趋势。因此，没有可靠依据声称种群正在增长，也无法比较两次幼虫发现的规模。⁠11⁠1

关于早期调查的报道还存在一个具体出入。Swansea Bay News在10月29日的报道中称，2022年和2025年的调查只发现成虫尸体。威尔士自然资源局的原始调查记录明确记载，2022年发现过幼虫。这一记录排除了有关2022年的更宽泛说法；但它并不与BBC Wales的另一则报道相矛盾，后者称前一年的调查只发现成虫尸体。⁠5⁠11⁠1

该物种更广泛的历史有助于解释人们为何如此重视这项看似不起眼的发现。1948年有过记录后，它在英国近60年未再见报道，直到2006年在德文郡、2009年在苏格兰的科尔岛重新被发现。这段长期的全国性记录空白，不应与近期在卡斯特尔马丁进行的搜索混为一谈。⁠1

卡斯特尔马丁也并非它在英国唯一的栖息地。Buglife记录了南德文郡和南威尔特郡，以及科尔岛、泰里岛、艾莱岛、巴拉岛和尤伊斯特岛上的种群。这一区别很重要：靶场是威尔士唯一已知的栖息地，因此威尔士的保护工作重心集中于此，但该物种在英国其他地区仍有生存。它在英国全境属于国家级稀有物种，保护状况被列为易危。⁠14⁠2

甲虫光有藏身之处并不足以存活

短颈油甲虫（Meloe brevicollis）需要的不只是成虫可以藏身的一片土地。它的幼虫依赖另一种昆虫才能完成发育。幼虫会爬上花朵，附着在前来访花的独居蜂身上，随它们进入蜂巢。威尔士自然资源局称，这种甲虫的整个生命周期完全依赖独居蜂。现有资料没有指出卡斯特尔马丁的独居蜂具体涉及哪些种类。⁠2

这种关系意味着，栖息地保护是一项涉及多个物种的实际工作，而不仅仅是保留发现甲虫的地点。成虫的藏身之处只是需求的一部分。周边栖息地还必须持续提供下一代所需的花朵和蜜蜂。

成虫体长可达24毫米，通常在3月至6月间被发现，尤其是在温暖晴朗的日子。其栖息地包括花卉丰富的海岸草地和沙丘，那里花朵繁茂，植被也能提供庇护。栖息地丧失一直是该物种面临的主要威胁。⁠1

卡斯特尔马丁项目是威尔士旗舰物种恢复计划的一部分，旨在保护这种甲虫以及其他共享其栖息地的物种。霍布斯表示，要让保护工作见效，就需要考虑“多个物种的需求”。在此案例中，这并非泛泛而谈的保护口号：甲虫对蜜蜂的依赖使其成为一项实际要求。⁠1⁠2

一般性的油甲虫保护指南支持维护野花丰富的栖息地。但这并不能证明某种特定的放牧方式或其他干预措施促成了此次发现，已发表的资料也没有提供能够证明种群恢复的量化结果。持续管理很重要，但不应把这项发现说成已实现了尚未测量的成效。⁠15⁠1

卡斯特尔马丁仍在接受调查，不过现有公告没有说明下一次调查的具体日期。这项成果确实值得肯定：在近期搜索只找到成虫尸体后，保护工作者又发现了幼年甲虫。更严峻的考验是，栖息地能否让甲虫、独居蜂和花朵在连续几代中共存。这就是有繁殖证据与拥有稳固未来之间的区别。⁠1⁠2

来源11

在此处引用的来源中，Western Telegraph最先发布，比本报道播出早3天。 随后还有6家媒体发布。
  1. Western Telegraph
  2. Nation.Cymru
  3. InYourArea
  4. atlasnews.ai
  5. BBC News
  6. BBC Wales
  7. Talk Fuse
  8. HeyDay News

4家媒体未注明日期：BuglifeNRW Data Discoverypembrokeshire-herald.comswanseabaynews.com

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来自 11 家媒体的 17 个来源· 引用最多的优先

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  1. Surveyors have found rare beetle larvae at Wales's only known site for the species.
  2. Last year's search found only dead adults. The young beetles now offer fresh evidence of breeding, but their survival depends on a habitat shared with solitary bees. The test is whether this isolated population can sustain future generations.
  3. Castlemartin Range in Pembrokeshire holds the newly discovered larvae in a small area. Natural Resources Wales says their number and distribution suggest surveyors found some hatchlings from a larger batch of immature beetles.
  4. The discovery followed three years of searching. Anne Hobbs, from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, thanked partners and volunteers who kept going through two years without a larval sighting. Those gaps in sightings left conservationists concerned about the beetle's continued presence.
  5. Adult short-necked oil beetles can reach 24 millimetres long. They're usually encountered from March to June, and they're most active on warm, sunny days. Their habitat includes flower-rich coastal grassland and sand dunes.
  6. The species is classed as nationally rare in Great Britain and has a Vulnerable conservation listing. Habitat loss has been a central threat. Keeping the beetle here means maintaining the flowers it depends on and dense vegetation where it can shelter.
  7. One known Welsh location concentrates the conservation stakes at Castlemartin. Elsewhere in Britain, populations have been recorded in South Devon and South Wiltshire, and on the Scottish islands of Coll, Tiree, Islay, Barra and Uist.
  8. After records in 1948, the beetle went unreported in the United Kingdom for almost 60 years. It was rediscovered in Devon in 2006, then on Coll in 2009. Wales also has a documented history before this latest find.
  9. An adult was recorded at Linney Head in June 2015. In 2022, surveyors found one dead adult and numerous larvae at Pen-y-holt Bay. Those larvae confirmed breeding within the protected site then. The 2026 discovery renews that evidence.
  10. The 2022 larvae were triungulins, the mobile first stage of the beetle's life. So searches here have found young beetles before. The discouraging result from last year's survey belongs to a more recent chapter, when surveyors found only dead adults.
  11. The larvae climb onto flowers and attach themselves to visiting solitary bees. Those bees carry them into their nests. The beetle depends completely on solitary bees to complete its life cycle, tying its survival to another insect's habitat needs.
  12. A patch of ground may provide shelter for adult beetles, but it also has to support the bees and flowers their young need. Protecting the species means keeping those relationships working across the habitat, beyond the spot where an individual beetle appears.
  13. Dense flowers and sheltering vegetation are essential to this beetle's habitat. Wales's flagship species recovery programme includes the Castlemartin project, with work intended to conserve the beetle alongside other species sharing the same conditions.
  14. Hobbs called the evidence of renewed breeding “very exciting”. She also said conservation work needed to consider the “needs of several species to be effective”. The beetle's dependence on bees makes that a practical requirement for its survival.
  15. Hobbs wants management of the site to continue so the species can survive into the future. Castlemartin continues to be surveyed, with the beetles' long-term prospects tied to maintaining their habitat and the solitary bees they need.
  16. The larvae suggest reproduction is happening again. They don't yet show that the population is growing or that enough young beetles survive to sustain it. Continued survival depends on keeping the beetles, their bee hosts and their flowers together across successive generations.

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