Rare beetle found in new location

ONE of the rarest beetles in Europe was discovered at a new location on the Clare/Galway border at the weekend.

A group of scientists got down and dirty in North Clare in an effort to find an extremely unusual insect, the elusive Octhebius nilssoni.
About 30 scientists from the Balfour Browne Club, an organisation that studies water beetles, were involved in the search.
The tiny beetle is found in just two locations worldwide, in northern Sweden and in the Burren. The insect was discovered in 1986 by Swedish scientist Professor Anders Nilsson, after whom the beetle is named. It was not until 2006 that the species was discovered in Ireland.
Wexford-based entomologist Stephen McCormack was one of the event organisers. “Some people travelled from other parts of Ireland but others came from England, Germany, The Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Sweden and Russia. Professor Nilsson also took part,” he told The Clare Champion.
According to Stephen, the excursion, which was part funded by the Heritage Council of Ireland, was very successful.
“We discovered quite a strong habitat. There were between 40 and 50 species of beetle in the area. In total, there are about 250 types of water beetle and, of these, one-third are probably under some threat of extinction. The Octhebius nilssoni would certainly be a vulnerable species,” he said.
For this reason, searching for the beetle can be difficult. “These beetles are very small, about 1.5mm long. You have to be down on your hands and knees looking for them to find any. They live in the mud and the algal scum. We found it in a couple of new sites, one of which was Lough Bunny. This is an odd place to find this beetle because lots of people have looked in there before and not found them but the water level was low, which made it easier. It is also odd to find this species there because it doesn’t swim, it just sits at the bottom of bodies of water. It can breathe using oxygen from algae.
“Octhebius nilssoni looks similar to other types of beetle and requires close examination to identify it. It took a couple of experts to recognise what it was when we found it at the weekend. The only way to tell it apart is to examine the male’s penis, so we took a few back to the lab and discovered that they were indeed Octhebius nilssoni,” Stephen said.
The Balfour Browne Club’s coleopterists (people who study water beetles) travel to various locations each year to study different species, so it is unlikely they will be back in Clare for a while.
“The group enjoyed céilí music on the Sunday night and had a great time at the Kilfenora Hostel and Vaughan’s Pub. Everyone looked after us brilliantly,” recalled Stephen.