Pashford Pot Beetle Cryptocephalus exiguus

The Pashford Pot Beetle, Cryptocephalus exiguus, is a tiny and exceptionally rare leaf beetle belonging to the family Chrysomelidae, and one of the most celebrated invertebrate rarities in Britain. Adults are minute – barely 2 mm in length – and yellowish-brown with variable dark markings. The common name derives from the cylindrical faecal case, or ‘pot’, that the larvae construct and carry – a behaviour typical of the Cryptocephalus genus – while the ‘Pashford’ element refers directly to Pashford Poors Fen in Suffolk, one of the species’ last known British strongholds. C. exiguus is associated with cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix) and wet heathland habitats that have been severely reduced through drainage, agricultural improvement, and succession. It is a species of the highest conservation concern and an iconic emblem of the fragile invertebrate communities dependent on the careful management of lowland wet heath. Image: © ukbeetles.co.uk.

Find out more: iNaturalist, UK Beetle recording, Buglife – Pot beetles