Blue Monday

Sunday 29th January 2023

Blue Monday


Since 2005, the third Monday in January has been labelled as Blue Monday, it’s said to be the most depressing day of the year.  We hoped to make a difference this year by launching a positive blue news story; our new public survey to help find more populations of the rare Blue Ground Beetle (Carabus intricatus).

The Blue Ground Beetle is one of the UK’s rarest beetles, and is currently only known from 15 sites in Cornwall, Devon and South Wales. At up to 38mm in length, it is the UK’s largest ground beetle, and is given its name as a result of the beautifully marked and strikingly blue-coloured body. The beetles are mainly nocturnal and can be found at any time of year.

Following the success of our Dartmoor Blue Ground Beetle Project last year, and discoveries of new populations of the Blue Ground Beetle, we hope that our Citizen Science Blue Ground Beetle Hunt may bring us more exciting news and discoveries during 2023!

Think you may have seen a Blue Ground Beetle?  Check out our ID Guide and head on over to our Blue Ground Beetle Hunt web page to log your records!
  
Find out more…

 

Jonathan Downes
Cryptozoologist, naturalist, musician, singer, composer, poet, novelist and Director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology since 1992. Jon was born in Portsmouth in 1959 and spent his infancy in Nigeria and his childhood in Hong Kong. His wife Corinna died of cancer in 2020, leaving him with two stepdaughters and a six year old granddaughter called Evelyn.