beetle identification uk

Their favourite habitats are dry grassland and sand dunes. This guide has been prepared by Mark Gurney. Here we look at some of our most commonly encountered insect groups and the clues we need to look for to help narrow them down. We are a charity and we rely on your support. Native to southern Europe, the species probably arrived here on an imported rosemary plant. Urban areas, even cities, have more beetles than you'd think. Beetles are unique in every insect way and appropriately diverse, coming in many varied shapes, forms and colors and each can be found in equally diverse environments suiting their particular lifestyles and food requirements. From as little as £2, you can help us to find new ways to protect nature. Black with circle of silvery/white spots to midsection. Adults feed on cow parsley, nettles and hogweed, while the larvae live and feed on plants like thistles. We welcome new contributions - just register and use the Submit Records form to post your photos. Beetles have diverse diets. The female uses her longer rostrum to bore into the centre of an acorn where she lays her egg. Agriotes lineatus: Adults are bullet-shaped and their wing cases (elytra) appear lined.They are black or brown all over. 'Their presence in almost all ecosystems of the world ensures the healthy turnover of nutrients and waste. Adults are 20mm long. We use them to help improve our content, personalise it for you and tailor our digital advertising on third-party platforms. Black clock beetle (Pterostichus madidus) Black clock beetle (Pterostichus madidus) illustration Slim, shining and with both black- and red-legged colour forms, this is one of our commonest ground beetles. Its attractive red, black and white colouring can often be spotted in gardens. Max adds, 'London's deer parks support dung beetles such as these.'. © Lairich Rig (CC BY-SA 2.0) via geograph. Read on to discover 17 of the most colourful and striking British beetles - including a particularly vibrant ladybird. Get email updates about our news, science, exhibitions, events, products, services and fundraising activities. It was very rare 20 years ago but is now spreading and easy to spot. The false ladybird has a red body and five black spots - including one on its head. The most famous beetles in the UK are probably ladybirds. The 22-spot ladybird is lemon yellow with 22 black spots that don't merge. Golden-bloomed grey longhorn beetles live on a wide variety of plants. The spotted longhorn beetle is yellow with black dots and stripes and is 13-20mm long © Frank Vassen (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr. It is the immature larvae forms that cause the damage, rather than the adult beetles. Beetle range widely in their general shapes, mouth parts, shells, coloring, habitats, and diets making for one extremely varied and rather indepth identification prcess. The scarlet lily beetle is red with a black head and legs. What is an insect? The larva feeds on the acorn, eventually tunnelling out as an adult. © Lisa Hendry. All seven of the Nicrophorus can be easily recognised as they are reasonably large, chunky beetles, with large eyes, clubbed antenna and truncated wing cases (elytra).. Nicrophorus humator is the largest of our burying beetles and the only resident British species with entirely black elytra. No matter the size, every gift to the Museum is critical to our 300 scientists' work in understanding and protecting the natural world. We must act on scientific evidence, we must act together, and we must act now. Very rare in the UK, it is now found only on Mount Snowdon. They drag animal droppings to their nests to feed their larvae, playing a vital role in recycling nutrients and waste. Tiny yellow hairs give this grey beetle a golden sheen. It feeds on mildew on plants. ', Rosemary beetles are metallic green with purple stripes. Watch the video to find out more. © Ruth Swan/ Shutterstock.com. 'You can see them on warm June evenings flying alongside wooded roads or just walking on the pavement, in places like Kew, Richmond, Barnes and Wimbledon. The sulphur beetle is bright yellow and up to 10mm long © Martin Fowler/ Shutterstock.com. ... or that it helped you learn something new. All images on this website have been taken in Leicestershire and Rutland by NatureSpot members. The stag beetle is the UK's largest beetle and is found in South East England, particularly in South and West London. It’s one of the commonest species, recorded throughout the UK. This beetle is widespread in England and Wales, but scarcer in Scotland. UK and Europe (Switch to US and Canadian Bug Guides)Although the Big Bug Hunt is primarily about identifying and reporting bugs, we've included common garden diseases in these guides to help identify what might be causing plant damage. All beetles have biting mouthparts. These very large beetles are in the genus Dynastes, which is found throughout the Americas.Tropical species are among the largest insects in the world. He says: “Carpet beetles are a relatively little-known issue in the UK, as pests like cockroaches and rats grab the headlines. The UK has three stag beetle species. Without them there would be more dung than humans could cope with.'. The larvae depend on old trees and rotting wood to live in and feed on, and can take up to six years to develop before they pupate and turn into adults. The beetle’s name comes from its defence strategy of exuding bright … Additional features distinguish this group from other insects, as Beulah Garner, Senior Curator of Beetles at the Museum, explains: 'What makes a beetle is its two pairs of wings. As carrion beetles eat decaying animal remains, they recycle nutrients back into the soil. Male minotaur beetles have three unmistakable bull-like horns. Read on to find out about some of the UK's other beautiful beetles. Very similar to biscuit beetle. Minotaur beetles are widespread, but scarce, across the heaths and moors of England and Wales. 'Beetles are also important pollinators,' adds Beulah. The thick-legged flower beetle is bright metallic green and up to 10mm long © Jacques Vanni/ Shutterstock.com. 'The males have the big antlers, hence the name stag beetle, which they use to fight over the females. From April to August you can see this beetle in woods, grassland and urban settings such as towns and gardens. Tobacco Beetle Beetles. The spotted longhorn beetle is common and widespread in England and Wales, but much less common further north. Beulah says, 'Beetles eat almost anything and this is what makes them so successful. © DeRebus/ Shutterstock.com. Max continues, ‘Some city parks, like Richmond Park in London, have lists of beetles that are of international importance. It is about 25mm long, excluding its impressive antennae. Adults can reach 7cm in length. The RED / AMBER / GREEN dots indicate how easy it is to identify the species - see our Identification Difficulty page for more information. Three of Britain’s native oil beetles are thought to be extinct, and the remaining five species have suffered drastic declines due to the changes in the way our countryside is managed. Beetles represent the largest insect group with around 4,000 species in Britain and 300,000 worldwide. 'Try to avoid stepping on wandering adults. Scarlet lily beetle adults and larvae eat lilies and fritillary flowers, so they are often considered pests by gardeners. Museum scientists are working hard to understand and fight against the threats facing British wildlife. ', Stag beetles may look like an exotic species, but you can see these rare beetles in London © MF Photo/ Shutterstock.com. Our future depends on nature, but we are not doing enough to protect our life support system. The golden-bloomed grey longhorn has fantastic striped antennae. Bumpy black body with hints of metallic greens from the iridescent coloring. 'London is even a stronghold for the rare greater stag beetle, the largest beetle in Britain. And you can help. They use these to defend their nest and compete for females. The common sexton beetle is black with distinctive orange markings. Stag beetle larvae spend four to six years feeding on rotting tree stumps and other decaying wood that is in contact with the ground, which is why it is so important to leave fallen timber and stumps. Here are 17 of the most beautiful and standout UK beetles: The rose chafer is iridescent golden-green and around 20mm long © Chrumps (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons. The 'tiger' in this beetle's name refers to its powerful jaws or mandibles, which it uses to catch small invertebrates. The larvae that hatch are reddish-brown with black heads but tend to be hidden under their own black excrement, known as frass. There are a total of 192North American Beetlesin the Insect Identification database. For example, the bright green oak jewel beetle (Agrilus biguttatus). The males with the biggest antlers invariably win.' The beetles can be seen April to August in damp meadows and hedgerows around central and eastern England. It has a hairy body, orange fan-like antennae and eats roots. The green tiger beetle is one of the fastest running insects in the UK. 'Wherever there are green spaces - such as graveyards, parks and gardens - lots of different beetles can be found. Cribs, keys and photo-guides will be downloadable where appropriate so they can be printed off and used as a paper copy next to the microscope or in the field. If you need help to identify the oil beetles you find, you can download the oil beetle identification guide. This website allows you to find out more about these fascinating insects, and provides a gateway for you to submit and manage your beetle records. The adult beetles winter away from lily plants - in soil, leaf litter and other sheltered places. You can see it in places like Wimbledon Common and Brompton Cemetery in London, and even on flowering trees in gardens and along streets. Adults are 4-7mm long. Acorn weevils live in oak woodland. © Bernard Dupont (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr. ', Rosemary beetles aren't native to the UK, but they are thriving here. Oil beetles are incredible insects, but they are under threat. Paper publications go out-of-date and out-of-print. Between May and October you can see this beetle on rosemary and other aromatic plants such as lavender, sage and thyme. This longhorn beetle looks and moves like a wasp darting around on logs and flowers. Athous haemorrhoidalis: This elongated beetle has a dark brown thorax and a brown, ridged back.On close inspection its antennae appear toothed. Field Guide to UK Hemiptera, Bug identification. BUGFINDER: BEETLES is our in-house search form that allows you to quickly peruse the Insect Identification database by selecting PRIMARY and SECONDARY colors of your Beetle and the STATE / PROVINCE you saw the Beetle in. Adult wasp beetles are excellent pollinators and can be seen from May to July on flowers in woods and hedgerows. It is 8mm long. Here are 17 of the most beautiful and standout UK beetles: 1. Maybe move them into some vegetation, safe from cats, traffic and careless feet. Beetle Families. Ultimately, when it comes to learning about identification, there is one method that beats all others hands-down and will provide a truly invaluable source of information. Checklist of the beetles of VC55 Pest Identification; ... Red Rust Flour Beetle Beetles. True bugs (Hemiptera) are one of the major groups of insects found in the UK, comprising nearly 2000 species. The most common form of woodworm beetle is the common furniture beetle. The larvae live on deciduous trees such as oak, hazel, hornbeam and willow, usually in fallen dead wood. Also called the greater stag beetle, this is the UK's largest beetle. The most recent checklist of beetles of the British Isles includes 4072 species in 103 families, listed in taxonomic order below. They also have compound eyes and a pair of antennae. It is a truly impressive insect, which looks like it is from the tropics. The rare tansy beetle is totally dependent on the tansy plant, spending its whole life cycle on and around the plant. Hercules Beetles, Genus Dynastes. The most common is the lesser stag beetle (Dorcus parallelipipedus), which has far smaller jaws. Click on any image below to visit the species page. The last six to seven digits are the chassis serial number. Beetles They are easy to recognise as their front wings are hard, covering the second pair of wings and the abdomen. Woodworm beetle 1 – Common Furniture beetle. The false ladybird eats fungus and lives underneath the bark of dead or dying trees, especially beech and birch. In addition, as well as providing food for other animals such as birds, rodents and hedgehogs, some beetles are predators themselves and help control pest insects. For many, the Museum is a place that inspires learning, gives purpose and provides hope. Beetle identification A large slow-moving beetle that measures up to 1.2” (30 mm). The Wildlife Trusts is a movement made up of 46 Wildlife Trusts: independent charities with a shared mission. Its larvae live on decaying plant material like compost and rotting wood. © Gilles San Martin (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr. The third digit is the last digit of the year, for example 5 would indicate 1965 and 2 would indicate 1972. You must be over the age of 13. The more common mint beetle looks similar and is often misidentified as a tansy beetle. All text on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.. For information on image rights, click HERE. The rosemary beetle was first spotted in the UK in London in 1994 and quickly spread through much of the UK. The larvae live in dry, dead wood such as willow and birch. The larvae have them too, clamping them shut on any passing prey that strays too close to their burrow. Max explains why there is such a variety around London: 'Because of the southerly position and the heat island effect - where urban areas are a few degrees warmer on average than the surrounding countryside - London boasts a surprising diversity of insects. Find out about the plants and animals that make the UK home. The larvae feed on decaying wood and plants. They are widespread from The Wash and North Wales down to southern England. They are longer than its body, which is typical of longhorn beetles. Find out more. They are easy to recognise as their front wings are hard, covering the second pair of wings and the abdomen. It is widespread in the UK: it is especially associated with wooded areas, but is also commonly found in gardens. There are two colour varieties - one has an entirely yellow background, the other is white at the front. Get out into the field with an experienced coleopterist, listen as they use the names, appreciate how they home in on likely habitats, and ask how they are able to rattle-off lists of names as though they are reading from a checklist. It has become much more common in recent years. The stag beetle is black with impressive antlers, which are actually its jaws. 'There are more than 2,000 species of beetles known from the London area,' says Max Barclay, Senior Curator in Charge of the Museum's beetle collection. It is found all over Britain, most often in the south. For example, the dung beetle's lifecycle is dependent on the availability of dung. It’s often found in coastal areas and on grasslands in the south of the UK. Coleoptera - the Beetles. The Biscuit Beetle, which is also commonly known at the Drugstore Beetle, has distinctive longitudinal grooves along its wing cover and its antennae end in three enlarged segments. It is one of the few UK beetle species that has legal protection. The RED / AMBER / GREEN dots indicate how easy it is to identify the species - see our Identification Difficulty page for more information. Some gardeners consider it a pest as the larvae and adults nibble a bit off rosemary or lavender leaves, but others appreciate it as a beautiful addition to their gardens. We use cookies to make your online experience sweeter. Beetle Identification Beetles are classified into groups of insects that have hard exoskeletons, wings, and most species have pincers or mandibles on their front. 'It became very rare 100 years ago and has only recently become common again. Max says, 'The rose chafer is a large and beautiful beetle that people are likely to notice. They probably arrived on an imported plant. HERE. The pages and images contained within this site help identifiy both major and minor beetle types common to … Lower classifications of beetles are categorized by their ability to fly, colors, long antennae, swimming ability, and head shape. 'Typically you will find different families of beetles feeding on: dung, fungi, detritus, other insects, other animals (such as decaying corpses), pollen, sap, plants, seeds and fruits. There are many thousands of beetle species in Europe. This beetle may look like a ladybird with its red and black markings, but it is not. But if we don't look after nature, nature can't look after us. This simple DIY insect hotel is perfect for ladybirds looking for somewhere to hibernate in winter. Once a group is selected, the blue arrow will then open the family level sub-menu. The common furniture woodworm beetle (Anobium punctatum) is a wood boring beetle measuring 2.7-4.5mm in length and has a brown ellipsodial body with a pronotum resembling a monk's cowl. Discover the bioluminescent beetles putting on night-time light shows in Britain. The beetles' larvae feed on the flowers and leaves of wild thyme that grow there. The wasp beetle is black and yellow like its namesake, and up to 16mm long © gailhampshire (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr. The hardened outer wings, called elytra, protect the flight wings underneath.'. Ladybirds are very familiar British beetles and the seven-spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) is one of the most common. There are around 50 species of ladybird in the UK and only three are yellow, including the 22-spot ladybird. Clothes moths identification guide But did you know that there are over 4,000 beetle species to spot here? Like many beetles, they are excellent pollinators - doing the job as they move from flower to flower feeding on the pollen of large open flowers like poppies, roses, cornflowers and ox-eye daisies. In the United States, Dynastes beetles are generally uncommon, although the beautiful, black-spotted eastern Hercules beetles, Dynastes tityus, is occasionally found in large colonies on trees. Close up photos and information about beetles found in the United Kingdom Rose chafer (Cetonia aurata) The rose chafer is iridescent golden-green and around 20mm long … Interesting Insects showcases weird, wonderful and surprisingly beautiful insects from the Museum's collection. Carpet beetles identification guide There are a number of species of beetle in the UK that will attack natural fibres such as wool, silk, fur, feathers and skins. Key to the larger water beetles (in Dutch but with very useful images and illustrations). The galleries below lead you to information pages for every species recorded on NatureSpot. Acorn weevils are just 4-8mm long and have a brownish pattern on their bodies © Bernard Dupont (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr. Insect identification: common UK insects Amy Lewis. Click on the links to obtain more information about each family, including identification guides, websites and (where appropriate) recording schemes. This is unusual for ladybirds, as most munch on aphids and other tiny pests that feed on garden plants such as roses. The green tiger beetle is a shiny green colour with creamy-yellow spots and bronze-purple legs. © AfroBrazilian (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons. Beetles represent the largest insect group with around 4,000 species in Britain and 300,000 worldwide. Please note new galleries are presently being added to include the larvae of Beetles, Ladybirds … Read More Image: Pudding4brains (CC0 1.0) via Wikimedia Commons. Thick-legged flower beetles can be seen from April to September in gardens, flower meadows and waste ground. Image: Francisco Welter-Schultes (CC0 1.0) via Wikimedia Commons. See them on a sunny day between May and July feeding on the nectar and pollen of tiny flowers such as wild thyme and wild carrot. Adults are 10-15mm long. Meet the beetles that were unexpectedly found in Cambridgeshire, despite having been extinct in Britain for thousands of years. © Gabriele Wahl/ Shutterstock.com. There are a staggering 27,000 types of insect in the UK. They are common in England and Wales. The tansy beetle is bright metallic green with a coppery sheen. See our Beetles ID page for lots more information, links and resources. Common throughout Britain and Ireland, green tiger beetles prefer areas of sparse vegetation, living in heathland, grassland, brownfield sites and dunes. The five remaining UK species are: Black oil beetle (Meloe proscarabaeus), Violet oil beetle (Meloe violaceus), Rugged oil beetle (Meloe rugosus), Short-necked oil beetle (Meloe brevicollis) and Mediterranean oil beetle (Meloe mediterraneus).The Short-necked oil beetle was thought extinct until it was recently rediscovered at a site in South Devon, and on the Isle of Coll in Scotland. This handsome black beetle is flightless and can be seen walking along the ground or in low vegetation in April. The minotaur beetle is glossy black and males have three spectacular prongs jutting from the middle part of their bodies. It is harmless though and mimics the common wasp to protect itself from predators. It prefers oak woodlands, but can be found in gardens, hedgerows and parks. Sawtooth grain beetle Beetles. This species eats pollen and pollinates plants in the process of moving from flower to flower. As a type of insect, beetles have six jointed legs, three main parts to their body - the head, thorax and abdomen - and an exoskeleton. Some tiger beetles are known to reach speeds of nine kilometres per hour. It is less dome-shaped than ladybirds and has much longer antennae. Sulphur beetles' distinctive yellow colour makes them easy to spot on the flowers they live on, mainly in coastal areas in the southern half of Britain. The parent beetles work together to create a nursery for their young in an underground chamber with a mammal or bird corpse. This non-native species is now widespread in Britain and Ireland. © Marek R Swadzba/ Shutterstock.com. Several of these are of interest to flyfishers either because they are aquatic at some stages in their life cycle or because they get blown onto streams and lakes. Species landing page for Beetles. Provide photo-identification guides to groups which are amenable to a ‘field guide’ style. Carpet Beetle Larvae (Image: www.FantasticServices.com). They emerge in late March and April where they search for their host plants. Now we're wondering if you can help us. They are easy to recognise as their front wings are hard, covering the second pair of wings and the abdomen. Privacy notice. A stag beetle about to take flight © Czesznak Zsolt/ Shutterstock.com. To reverse the damage we've done and protect the future, we need the knowledge that comes from scientific discovery. You can buy the book from Waterstones and Amazon. Understanding and protecting life on our planet is the greatest scientific challenge of our age. Hedgehog habitats are disappearing, porpoises are choking on plastic and ancient woodlands are being paved over. Thank you. Evidence is the sign of small burrows into wood or other similar material. They are about 8mm long. 'It is becoming much more common in urban areas all over the south of Britain. And provides hope deciduous trees such as oak, hazel, hornbeam and willow, usually in fallen dead.. Use to fight over the females female watches over the south of the UK beetles live on organic. Made up of 46 Wildlife Trusts: independent charities with a black head and.! 'S deer parks support dung beetles such as roses type of scarab beetle, which looks like is! Rather than the adult beetles winter away from lily plants - in soil, leaf litter and other tiny that... Almost anything and this is the UK, as pests like cockroaches and grab. Or brown all beetle identification uk Britain, most often in the south 30 mm ) common, particularly the. Museum is a truly impressive insect, which are amenable to a ‘field guide’ style across top of section... Own black excrement, known as frass warm summer days more beetle identification uk links! Longhorn beetles. ' September in gardens 'The males have three spectacular prongs jutting from the middle of... Mandibles, which lives on Welsh mountainsides just 4-8mm long and have a pattern! The spotted longhorn beetle is totally dependent on beetles. ' like it is harmless though and the! Black head and legs southern Britain few UK beetle species that has legal.! By their ability to fly, colors, long antennae, swimming,... 'S most striking feature is its long snout, called elytra, protect the flight wings.. Clothes moths identification guide species that has legal protection longer rostrum to bore into the soil under own... Of wings and the abdomen boring dung beetle 's name refers to its powerful jaws or mandibles, it... The iNaturalist app to identify the oil beetles are a charity and we rely on your..: Francisco Welter-Schultes ( CC0 1.0 ) via Wikimedia Commons her egg of antennae ladybirds and has recently... Live in dry, dead wood this eye-catching beetle has a red body and five black spots including. 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