Our biodiversity work at the garden is working as rare female Stag Beetle found in logpile.

We had a visit today, 23rd July 2025, from the Wildlife Officer at Peterborough City Council, they were running an insect activity with the kids on our summer holiday club, which they loved!

During this insect hunt he found a Female Stag Beetle, which got the Wildlife Officer very excited as it is apparently a rare and protected species.

It is also a great demonstration that all the hard work we've been doing over the past 5 years to create a thriving and diverse habitat and create a biodiverse rich space here at WestRaven is definitely working.

Here are some details about Stag Beetles from the Wildlife Trust website;

"Famous for its fearsome jaws, the stag beetle does not have the bite to match. Look for it in woods, parks and gardens in South East England in summer. Males display their massive jaws to attract females and duel with their rivals."

"Conservation status: Protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework."

It was so much fun to see him use different methods to find and ID the various bugs, there were so many! And watching the children get so involved too, a real joy.

He will be back to look at the site in more detail, and share his advice with us as we develop the the ecology of the site even more...very exciting!

*Photo below is from the BBC Wildlife Magazine and photo credit is Ross Bower, our female stag beetle moved too fast for us to get a picture!