Disturbances, such as fire and wind, are important for saproxylic beetles (= beetles depending on decaying wood) to gain substrate in boreal forests. Clear-cutting is an example of a man-made disturbance. Measures such as prescribed burning have been made to resemble natural disturbances. The aim of this study was to see which clear-cut characteristics are important for the occurrence of the saproxylic beetle Upis ceramboides. This is a species favored by open habitats and is said to respond positively to forest fires. The distribution area in Sweden for this species has decreased during the last two centuries and I wanted to see if there were differences between clear-cuts in Hälsingland, where it is very rare and decreasing, and Norrbotten where this study was conducted.

Many wood living insects are considered threatened by modern forestry due to the reduction in amount of dead wood. During the last decade various methods have been used to enhance the quantity of dead wood in managed forests. However little is known how and if these methods are aiding saproxylic insects. The threatened tenebrionid beetle, Upis ceramboides, is already extinct in southern Sweden. It develops in white rotted dead birch (Betula spp) and requires sun-exposed sites.