SPECIAL refuges for stag beetles are to be built in Upton to preserve the town's status as a major centre for the rare insect.

The three-inch long beetles lay their eggs in rotting timbers, where the larvae live and feed for three to six years.

But there is evidence that their numbers are declining, even though the town is the county's best site for the beetle.

"We want to put in refuges now to take the place of old hedgerows and dead fruit trees, because people are tidying their gardens more and more these days," said Steven Bloomfield, sites and species officer for Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.

Two sites off Rectory Road have been identified as possible stag beetle refuges, where broad-leaved timbers will be sunk into the ground in early October.

Mr Bloomfield has invited town councillors to go along and help, armed with spades and wellies.

"If we put the timber in this year it will have time to rot down a bit by next July when the beetles emerge and look for somewhere to lay their eggs," he said.

The trust's recent survey in Upton, Ryall and Holly Green provided fresh information about the distribution of the stag beetle population.

"We also learned that there are fewer than there used to be 25 years ago and in some places they have lost their habitat," said Mr Bloomfield.

"We don't want people to radically tidy their gardens. If anyone is removing old timbers, we would like them to stack them in a damp corner to rot down naturally. It's important for other creepy crawlies too."