The surveys were carried out by a team of three volunteers (Steve Lane, Graham Finch and Anona Finch) along with Tim Sexton, the Species and Recording Officer at Rutland Water. The ‘Fab Four’ as they became affectionately known, set out to create a baseline of beetle records for the Reserve and identify important assemblages of beetles which have become established in the years since.

From the species discovered, 22 species were identified as being new to Leicestershire and Rutland and almost 70 are considered to be either nationally scarce or of conservation concern. These included a number of reed beetles, a group of wetland specialists that are only found in reedbeds – one of which hadn’t been seen in the counties since 1895! A number of important beetle assemblages were also identified including one assemblage associated with dead wood, one associated with fungi and one associated with marshland.

The Nature Reserve covers an area of some 400ha and is situated at the western end of the Reservoir. Created along with the Reservoir back in the 1970s, the Nature Reserve consists of a mosaic of different habitats including open water and shallow ponds, wet meadows, wildflower grasslands and ancient woodlands.

While the Reservoir and Nature Reserve are internationally recognized for its importance to overwintering water birds, a number of insect groups have been well studied on the site for over 30 years - including moths, which are at number two in the charts with 745 species recorded.

The results of the beetle surveys coincide with the opening of a new ‘hotel’ for beetles at Rutland Water, created by staff and volunteers over the winter. The ‘Beetle Loggery’ was built with over 100 logs up to 3.5m tall and buried up to 1m below the ground. The sculptural installation replicates standing deadwood, which is considered to be the rarest kind of deadwood habitat, and it is hoped will provide a home for a range of different saproxylic (deadwood associated) beetles as it slowly decays. Target species include the Rhinoceros Beetle and the Lesser Stag Beetle which are two smaller relatives of the Stag Beetle.