A SURVEY of stag beetles and other log pile dwelling insects has been launched this month.

Wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) has launched a brand-new garden survey, ‘Map your log pile’, to help save endangered stag beetles and other wildlife.

PTES is asking anyone with a garden or access to a local green space - including school playgrounds, church yards, parks, allotments and traditional orchards - to create a log pile or pyramid for stag beetles and other invertebrates, and record their location online.

This will enable PTES to see where these important deadwood habitats exist, where more need to be created, and hopefully inspire others to create their own too.

Log piles can be created from any logs, wood chips, old firewood or fallen branches and place them in a corner of your garden or green space.

Laura Bower, Conservation Officer at PTES, said: “Creating log piles, pyramids and leaving dead wood to rot down into the soil makes the perfect habitat for a whole host of species, including stag beetles which, like many invertebrates, are declining across the country due to habitat loss.

"Stag beetles have even become extinct in some parts of Europe, which we can’t let happen here in the UK. Helping invertebrates in this way couldn’t be easier, so we hope lots of people can help by making a stag beetle a home this summer.”