The raggbokken is an unusual beetle that has not been found in Västerbotten for nearly 50 years. Now it has once again been targeted.
The forest company Holmen Skog has carried out so-called conservation fires in the Berga natural forest in Västerbotten, with the aim of benefiting the environment for the rag goat.
“The rag goat lives in dead, lying pines, so-called pine fires. Today, there is a shortage of dead old pines in the forest, which has caused the ragbuck to be pushed back and is now red-listed as vulnerable,” says David Rönnblom, nature conservation specialist at Holmen Skog in a press release.
Now the work of burning the forest has yielded results.
Holmen discovered the typical centimeter-wide holes in the pines for the ibex back in 2015. However, it was not until autumn 2022 that a live ibex was caught in one of Holmen’s insect traps.
“Thanks to the nature conservation burns, the rag goat now has northern Sweden’s strongest stronghold in Berga. The burnings have also promoted other insects that depend on burnt land and wood,” says David Rönnblom.