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New identity for Megapenthes lugens reflects location, character and appearance, say judges of competition to give common names to 10 rare UK species

• See the full list of winners
• George Monbiot: Ten species now have an identity we can care about

It began with a stark fact â€" the rapid extinction of animals and plants in England - and has ended with an outpouring of interest, ingenuity, some poetry and even a touch of magic.

The Guardian competition to name some lesser-known and threatened insects, lichens and sea-creatures from around the country received more than 3,000 entries, transforming the Philorhizus quadrisignatus into the intriguing Mab's lantern beetle, Peltigera venosa into the otherworldly pixie gowns lichen, and Haliclystus auricula into colourful kaleidoscope jellyfish.

These were just some of 10 winners in the contest to give common names to species that â€" until now â€" were known only by their official Latin titles. The overall winner met all the judges' criteria by reflecting its location, character and appearance: the queen's executioner beetle. "I've gone for this for the link to Windsor [the only place in the UK that Megapenthes lugens lives] and the royals," said the winner, greenhitman, via the blog. "The executioner is to represent that it kills and eats the larvae of others, and also links to its black colour â€" the hood of an executioner is traditionally black." Runners-up in the same category echoed a similar theme, coming up with the Windsor witch beetle and black prince beetle.

\\ "Judging the competition was very difficult as in any case, at least half a dozen names that deserve to win," said Guardian columnist George Monbiot, who first proposed the competition . "They are not only practical and distinctive, many of them have also captured the magic and mystery of wild Britain '." Monbiot refers to the witches mustache' lichens, winner of the names of medicinal lichen Usnea florida: the name captured its wispy texture, and echoes of the tradition of giving special names to plants and body parts for witches' brews.

The winner that named Philorhizus quadrisignatus as the Mab's lantern beetle refers to the fairy queen, Shakespeare's "fairies' midwife" who gave birth to dreams; lantern to the glowing effect of the pale markings on the insect's back.

The winner for naming Cryptocephalus punctiger was the blue pepper-pot beetle, a name which brilliantly captures the iridescent colour and markings, but also serves as a reminder that this species belongs to the family of pot beetles.

One species, however, has ended up with a name with little or no reference to location or appearance, yet in some indefinable way it seems perfectly appropriate to call the tiny water shrimp, Arrhis phyllonyx , a sea piglet shimp.

Monbiot made his statement to the more common names to capture the public imagination after a report Natural England , the government's countryside and biodiversity agency, revealed that more than two species a year were becoming extinct in England, and nearly 1,000 more were seriously under threat of disappearing.

Natural Englandjointly organized a competition from Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the Guardian. The winners receive certificates and their names will go on display at the museum.

Tom Tew, Natural England's chief scientist, said the agency was "delighted" with the response, and particularly the quality of suggestions, many of which echoed common names of more famous species, but with a modern twist. mustache witch 'lichen resembles the once popular ladies bed straw', used by women for their scent mattresses, while skeetle beetle ( Stenus longitarsis ) Literally describes what he does to escape from predators using natural "Scooter", as the competition entry to describe them.

"As to whether [the competition] is going to do any good," he continued, "it can't do any harm. These names will now enter the lexicon of British wildlife and you can connect so much when they have a name."

The remaining two category winners were the St John's jellyfish (Lucernariopsis cruxmelitensis) and the scabious cuckoo bee (Nomada armata), the last one nominated by Geoff Vincent, from Virginia Water, Surrey. The insect is from the family of cuckoo bees which lay their eggs in other bees' nests, and it feeds on scabious flowers, explained Vincent, who compared the competition to reality TV shows like Over the Rainbow, which searches for singing stars to lead the cast of popular musicals like The Sound of Music. "It's perfect for catching attention, particularly [to] those things no one sees," he told the Guardian.

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