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Researched by: The Tansy Beetle Action Group

Designed by: Cathy Simpson

The Tansy Beetle Action Group (TBAG) was established in 2008 by Geoff and Roma Oxford (University of York), following the designation of the rare and beautiful Tansy beetle as a UK conservation priority. TBAG has grown over the last 16 years with new members representing a range of local and national organisations. Annual surveys of Tansy beetles along the River Ouse were started in 2009 and over the years have involved over 100 volunteer surveyors. Other activities have encompassed research, practical conservation and education. These have included research on the beetle’s behaviour, planting of 10,000s Tansy plants, invasive plant control and the building of enclosures to limit grazing; as well as extensive outreach activities. None of this would have been possible without Geoff and Roma’s Oxford ongoing efforts to champion the Tansy beetle and its conservation, together with the large group of enthusiastic volunteers associated with and supporting TBAG.

❝The design was produced as a collaboration with the Tansy Beetle Action Group (TBAG), which was established in 2008 following the designation of this rare and beautiful beetle as a conservation priority species in the UK. As a result, representatives of statutory authorities met with Geoff & Roma Oxford (University of York) to evaluate the threats to the beetle's survival and how best to mitigate them. TBAG has grown over the last 16 years to include a range of other organisations, for example St Nick's, the National Trust and the Species Recovery Trust. Annual surveys of tansy beetles along the River Ouse were started in 2009 and over the years have involved over 100 volunteer surveyors. Other activities have included research, practical conservation and education. This has included discovering more about the beetle's behaviour, as well as managing threats through the planting of 10,000's of its main foodplant, tansy, invasive weed control and the building of stock-proof enclosures to limit grazing. Education about the beetle itself has included school activities, talks to local groups, articles in natural history journals, and leaflets, displays and postcards. Nor forgetting, of course, this Tansy Beetle sculpture! 

The sculpture celebrates TBAG, with a portrait of Geoff and Roma and an introduction to their work; it also celebrates the tansy beetle with details of its habitat, life cycle and foodplants - but also its beauty. It has been described as 'The Jewel of York', and in the past tansy beetle wing cases have been used as sequins because of their brilliant iridescent colours. While the design has an educational purpose, it is also intended to be attractive and engaging. The beetles appear jewel-like among the delicate plants which comprise its habitat, and the information roundels are edged with gold to complete the effect of 'The Jewel of York'.

I have participated in several public art trails in recent years, and they never fail to be exciting for artists, sponsors and the participating public. I have always found it exciting to see people who would not normally visit museums and galleries fall in love with the sculptures available to them on the trails, and really appreciate that art is for THEM! 

On a personal level, I'm very privileged to be working with the Tansy Beetle Action Group. Wildlife conservation is a cause close to my heart, particularly the urban wildlife which somehow has to eke out an existence alongside mankind. Of course, conservation of the tansy beetle cannot take place without preservation of its environment, the vegetation and waterways which support it, so raising awareness of the issues is so very important. In my design I have sought to combine attractive educational images with the decorative qualities of tansy beetles and their beautiful food plants, to engage the public not just with the artwork but with its message. 

My hope is that it will promote the tansy beetle as 'The Jewel of York', raise awareness of the work of TBAG - and, crucially, open people's eyes to the wonders which exist around them.❞

Geoff and Roma Oxford are York’s fantastic Tansy Beetle superheroes. Geoff is currently an Honorary Fellow in Biology at the University of York, and Roma is a Natural History Educator, as well as an expert Tansy Beetle breeder. They have decades of experience in both research and education between them, and their work has helped shape nature conservation in the city. Many current York-based conservationists can remember attending one of their Wildlife WATCH sessions or Roma’s legendary school wildlife visits as children.

Their Work: Geoff and Roma became fascinated by the Tansy Beetle some 30 years ago when Roma started to breed them and began to ask questions. This led to thousands of Tansy Beetles being reared in nets in Geoff and Roma’s back garden. The Tansy Beetle also became the focus of two Ph.D. research studentships and several Masters projects. Many educational sessions on the beetle were experienced by York’s citizens, young and old. As Roma says, “Nothing beats seeing a Tansy Beetle walking along a child’s finger”. In 2008, Geoff, Roma, and representatives from relevant authorities formed the Tansy Beetle Action Group (TBAG) to coordinate the species’ conservation – and TBAG still champions the beetle’s cause today.

The Tansy Beetle: The Tansy Beetle, Chrysolina graminis, is a stunning leaf beetle the size of a little finger nail (about 10 mm) with an iridescent green body that glints red, bronze, and blue in sunlight. Due to its rarity, it is IUCN Red Listed as Endangered in terms of its extinction risk in England. The beetle is also known as the ‘Jewel of York’.

As its common name suggests, in Yorkshire it eats predominantly Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, a tall aromatic plant with yellow, button-like flowers, which grows in large clumps along the River Ouse. Beetles overwinter deep amongst Tansy roots, emerging in March. They feed on young Tansy leaves, mate, and lay batches of pale-yellow eggs on the food plant. The eggs hatch into beige, slug-like larvae, which also eat Tansy. In late June, the larvae head underground to pupate. A month later, the new generation of adults appears, by which time the overwintering generation has largely died. The new adults feed before disappearing underground again in late September to hibernate. Beetles on the River Ouse are surveyed annually in August by TBAG volunteers. Mapping the distributions of Tansy and Tansy Beetles is critical for understanding the ecology of the beetle and its food plants, and for informing conservation strategies. Threats to York’s Tansy Beetles include flooding (especially during the spring and summer), overgrazing, competition between Tansy and invasive plants (such as Himalayan Balsam, Impatiens glandulifera), and mismanagement of the banks. TBAG is working closely with riverbank managers to provide bespoke feedback from annual surveys and tailored advice on making their riverbanks more beetle-friendly.

Geoff and Roma are delighted that people in York take great pride in the beetle as a symbol of their city and how it has become, more widely, a spectacular ambassador for the importance of invertebrate conservation in Britain.