The rare Plantain Leaf Beetle has a new name in Shetland – da Peerie Red Scarred Wan!
The Keen of Hamar in Unst, Shetland, is one of just three areas that the Plantain Leaf Beetle (Chrysolina intermedia) can be found in the whole of the UK. Here at Species on the Edge, we thought it was therefore deserving of a proper Shetland name. We teamed up with Shetland for Wirds to support students at Baltasound Primary School to create a local name for this incredibly rare beastie. They also came up with a creative (if fictional) story explaining how da Peerie Red Scarred Wan got its distinctive red stripes. Here is this story.
“Da beetle wha bydes on da Keen o Hamar hed a aafil fight wi his twa cousins. Dey fled far awa. Noo wan byde in Orkney, an da idder bydes in a loch. Da three beetles ir nearly as owld as da whole wirld. Dey got alang fine until da people cam ta be near dem. Dir is mair beetles in da wirld, but da een on da Keen o Hamar juist wants ta be on his ain. He’s embarrassed bi his red stripe. He got da red strip becis da rocks on da Keen o Hamar can be used tae mak pent, an da beetle wis scarred bi da rocks. He got cut bi a rock whin he wis lookin fir some plantain. It’s da red stripe on his back dat is da reason he is caad…. Da Peerie Red Scarred Wan”.
The children’s story has been brought to life in a fantastic short animation created by Eleanor Meikle, NatureScot.
