A rare beetle has been recorded in south-west London for the first time.
The "globally rare" False Click Beetle, Eucnemis capucina, was found on Wimbledon Common by London's Natural History Museum during an insect survey.
The common was the famous home of the environmentally aware Wombles and the beetle is also associated with unspoiled natural environments.
Dr Max Barclay said "no-one I know has ever seen it" with the newest specimens at the museum dating back to the 1930s.
'Lucky shot'
Dr Barclay, the manager of the museum's beetle collection, said: "This beetle is associated with only the best and oldest woodlands, and previously was known only from the New Forest and Windsor Forest.
"Insects are the bottom of the animal food chain, so if insect populations are healthy it bodes well for bats, birds and other animals."
Keita Matsumoto, who found the insect, said: "It was a lucky shot. I'm pleased I was swinging my insect net that afternoon instead of my tennis racquet."
The survey recorded more than 100 species of beetle, many of which had not been reported in the area before.
