A new beetle

28 Thursday Sep 2023

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beetle on Hawthorn, British beetles, Cryptocephalus fulvus, Cryptocephalus pusillus

I was searching Hawthorn leaves for a particular leafmine when I spotted this tiny beetle sitting on a Hawthorn berry. It also spotted me so didn’t stay still for long and I only managed three slightly blurry photos.

230928 Cryptocephalus pusillus (1)

I think this is Cryptocephalus pusillus but there are a couple of very similar beetles (Cryptocephalus fulvus is another strong contender but seems to be more of a ground plant dweller). Although I’ve recorded this little critter, my record hasn’t yet been checked – the checking process can sometimes be lengthy / not happen at all, as there aren’t always experts available to check records, and most of those who do are volunteers so have to fit their checking in with the other demands on their time. When/if I get confirmation, or otherwise, I’ll update this post.

230928 Cryptocephalus pusillus (2)

Flea beetle

01 Friday Sep 2023

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beetle, British beetles, Flea beetle, Sphaeroderma species

This ruddy creature is my first ever Flea beetle but, just as with my recent new leafhopper, I haven’t been able to put a specific name to it. There are two very similar species, Sphaeroderma rubidum and Sphaeroderma testaceum, and, though the UK Beetles website maintains that ‘they are easily distinguished, with a little experience, by sight; the colour and shape being unique’, I don’t have the necessary experience.

230901 flea beetle (1)

The website explains:

Body strongly rounded, often almost circular, pronotum very strongly narrowed from the base and very finely punctured. 2.3-3.5 mm. – S. rubidum
Body less strongly rounded, slightly but distinctly elongate, the pronotum less strongly narrowed from the base and more strongly punctured, especially towards the basal margin. 2.5-4.2 mm. – S. testaceum

230901 flea beetle (2)

Without seeing the two beetles side by side or, perhaps, knowing in advance specifically what to look for, I find myself unable to identify the beetle I found.

Garden chafer

14 Wednesday Jun 2023

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British beetles, Garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola

If you’re a gardener, you might not be so pleased to see beetles like this Garden chafer (Phyllopertha horticola) anywhere near your abode as their larvae feed on plant roots. This one, though, was out in the wild, sitting on roadside plants, ‘sniffing’ the wind with those three-pronged antennae poking out from its brow.

230614 garden chafer

You know it’s almost summer when …

25 Thursday May 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects, seasons

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British beetles, Buttercup, Cuckooflower, signs of summer, Swollen-thighed beetle

I’m sure you all have things that say ‘it’s almost summer’ to you – when you spot your first Swallow perched on an overhead wire or you hear your first screaming Swifts; when a particular flower blooms; when the morning light wakes you up earlier than your alarm; when you spot your first dragonfly of the year; when it’s warm enough to wear short sleeves. Well, one of the things that says summer to me is the appearance of these metallic-green mini-beasties, the Swollen-thighed beetles, in this case the males with the tell-tale swollen thighs, shown here on a cuckooflower and on a buttercup.

230525 swollen-thighed beetle

Thistle tortoise beetle larvae

07 Thursday Jul 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, plants

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British beetles, Cassida rubiginosa, Creeping thistle, faecal shield, insects on Creeping thistle, Larva carrying poo on back, Thistle tortoise beetle, Thistle tortoise beetle larva, weird beetle larva

This is one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever seen. These are the larvae of the Thistle tortoise beetle (Cassida rubiginosa) but, at a quick glance, they look just like little lumps of poo on the leaves of Creeping thistle. And that’s exactly what you can see because these amazing creatures employ a faecal shield as a protective device, carrying their own excretions above their back as a disguise. There are very few local records for this beetle but, as has happened to me before, once I found one – and so knew what to look out for, I then found more in other locations (including a couple of larvae without their shield), so this is another case of something being rarely recorded rather than actually rare.

220707 thistle tortoise beetle larvae

A longhorn

23 Thursday Jun 2022

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British beetles, Cerambycidae, Longhorn beetles, longhorns, Rutpela maculata

As if it knew I was purposefully looking for insects to celebrate National Insect Week, this beetle, my first longhorn of the year, was sunning itself in a hedgerow as I passed by this morning. This is Rutpela maculata (no common name), one of the Cerambycidae and the only longhorn beetle I see regularly in my local area. The black-and-yellow colouration of these beetles varies quite a bit but they always look handsome.

220623 longhorn beetle

Red for danger?

22 Wednesday Jun 2022

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British beetles, Pyrochroa serraticornis, red beetle, Red-headed Cardinal beetle

I was minding my own business, head in a tree as often happens, when one of these crazy little dudes flew into me today. Maybe it thought I was a trunk. It rolled a couple of times in mid air, tumbled, then recovered in time to land on a nettle, scrabbled about, righted itself, then turned and gave me the most indignant look, as if its crazy flying was all my fault. These are Red-headed cardinal beetles (Pyrochroa serraticornis), frequenters of shady woodlands, predators on other insects, occasional menaces of the airways.

220622 red-headed cardinal

Glow-worm larva

02 Thursday Jun 2022

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British beetles, Glow-worm, Glow-worm larva

This was a surprise.

220602 glow-worm larva (1)

I’d just come to the end of a long meandering wander around woodland rides and meadows, finding little in the way of critters to photograph or ponder over, and was heading homewards, stomping up a private road, when I looked down and spotted this bizarre-looking mini-beastie tootling along. It’s a Glow-worm larva and the Wildlife Trusts website has this to say about them: ‘Glow-worms live for up to three years as predatory larvae, living under rocks and hidden deep in grassy tussocks where they mainly feed on snails.’

220602 glow-worm larva (2)

A new beetle

04 Wednesday May 2022

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British beetles, flower beetle, Malachite beetle, Malachius bipustulatus

I thought a shiny green beetle with red ‘buttocks’ would be easy to identify – I should’ve known better. It seems the Malachite beetle (Malachius bipustulatus), named after the bright green mineral its colour resembles, can be mistaken for a similar beetle Cordylepherus viridis, though the thorax and head shapes are a little different. Looking at those features, and checking the Welsh records for both beetles, I’m fairly sure my find is a Malachite beetle but I’ll update this post if I’m proved wrong.

220504 malachite beetle

As busy as a beetle

19 Saturday Mar 2022

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beetle, British beetles, busy as a beetle

An idiom we often use to describe someone who has a lot to do is ‘as busy as a bee’ but have you ever watched a beetle going about its everyday chores? They can be just as busy as bees.

220319 beetle

With over 4000 species of beetle in Britain, it’s almost impossible to identify them with examining their genitals (!), so I haven’t even tried to put a name to this little one. I simply enjoyed watching the sun catch its glimmering carapace as it beetled busily along.