Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Beetle inventory near Abtshagen: Thousands caught in the forest

Abtshagen (dpa/mv) - Thousands of crawling animals were caught during a beetle inventory in Abtshagen near Grimmen.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Beetle inventory near Abtshagen: Thousands caught in the forest

Abtshagen (dpa/mv) - Thousands of crawling animals were caught during a beetle inventory in Abtshagen near Grimmen. A Greifswald beetle expert caught 7553 beetles of 292 species, the German Wildlife Foundation announced on Friday. For this he mainly used funnel traps and a fermented liquid as a lure. The campaign should help to assess the impact of the loss of their habitat.

Every day around 54 hectares are redesignated as settlement or traffic areas across Germany. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, around 1.4 hectares of land were converted into residential, industrial and commercial, transport and recreational areas every day in 2020 - i.e. about two football pitches. The remaining forest areas often lack old or dead wood.

According to the information, the census took place in a forest that is largely under protection, which the foundation took over in 2018. He is not used, so that dead and old wood can accumulate.

According to the Red List of Germany or Red List of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, 64 of the species found are threatened or at least subject to species protection. One beetle in particular was said to have been reported for the first time ever in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania near Greifswald. In a few years, another census should show whether the number of beetles has increased with the increase in old and dead wood.