Opilio mollis, a dark brown beetle with cream coloured spots and long legs on a pale canvas background.
Tapped Opilio mollis, an attractive species of chequered beetle (Cleridae) out of ivy at Fishers Green today. #EssexWildlife #UKBeetles
Hylastes ater, a relatively common species I believe. An elongated dark #beetle with mahogany-toned wing cases.
I think this is Polygraphus poligraphus, the Small Spruce Bark Beetle. If I’m right and the record is accepted then it looks like it will only be the second for Norfolk. A tiny dark beetle with paler legs and antennae.
At 4.3mm this is one of the larger bark beetles I’ve found, and keys to Hyelinus crenatus once I place it in the tribe Hylesinini. It actually seemed to key to a different tribe but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t look like anything in that tribe. A relatively chunky bark beetle, mostly black.
Another tiny bark beetle, Pityogenes trepanatus. A black beetle with pale antennae and legs. The apex of the wing cases has a distinctively furrowed centre bordered by a pair of ridges each with three prominent teeth. #UKinverts
The last group of beetles, finishing my 2+ year-long project of working through my outstanding specimens and reviewing my old records, is the bark beetles, Scolytinae. Often difficult to ID but if I haven’t made any mistakes then some relatively unusual ones among them. IDs in ALT text. #UKBeetles
Brachypera zoilus, a brown broad-nosed weevil.
Apparent Hypera venusta - I’ve had a couple of beetles that seem to be this species though one or two characters haven’t fitted the key perfectly.
Rhinocyllus conicus, a furry mottled buff and fuscous #beetle with straight antennae (not elbowed after a long scape as they are in many #weevils).
Magdalis carbonaria, a black weevil with a long rostrum and parallel-sided wing cases. #UKInverts
Here are some more weevils: from subfamily Hyperinae, Brachypera zoilus and what seems to be Hypera venusta, and from subfamilies Lixinae and Mesoptiliinae, the lovely Rhinocyllus conicus and Magdalis carbonaria. #UKBeetles
We found this very tiny, very pretty Weevil at RSPB Ham Wall on our recent visit there. I think it is a Willow Catkin Weevil, Dorytomus taeniatus - there were lots of Willows around, but I’m always happy to be corrected! #WeevilWednesday #UKBeetles
Euophryum confines: a long narrow beetle with a longish rostrum and elbowed antennae. It is dark brown with blackish foreparts.
This Euophryum confine is the only member of the weevil subfamily Cossoninae that I’ve identified so far. Strange little things. #UKinverts #UKbeetles
Small iridescent blue beetle with red legs and thorax with a black head, sitting on a pale canvas background.
Tapped a Cereal Leaf Beetle (Oulema duftschmidi/melanopus agg.) out of a Euonymus shrub in my Waltham Abbey garden a couple of days ago. #EssexWildlife #UKBeetles
Lasiorhynchites cavifrons, a beautiful hairy beetle I found underneath an Oak tree. At a glance it looks black but it has a strong blue metallic colouration, although in the photos this has come out looking more green than blue (the specimen is very definitely blue, hardly green at all). A Nationally Scarce species apparently. #beetle
The Apple Leaf Weevil with a very long scientific name: Tatianaerhynchites aequatus. This was one of two beaten from Rowan in the local churchyard. A dark-coloured #weevil with a long rostrum. The wing cases are metallic red, darker at the base.
A Birch Leaf Roller, Deporaus betulae. A smart black weevil which, despite its vernacular and scientific names suggesting an association with birch, is also associated with alder and hazel (this one was on hazel).
A Hazel Leaf-roller, Apoderus coryli, one of just two British members of the family Attelabidae. The elongate black head is separated from its bright scarlet body by a narrow neck. The base of the legs are scarlet like the body but the rest of the legs are mainly black.
The weevil families Rhynchitidae and Attelabidae are beautiful beetles. Here we have the Nationally Scarce Lasiorhynchites cavifrons, Tatianaerhynchites aequatus (Apple Leaf Weevil), Deporaus betulae (Birch Leaf Roller) and Apoderus coryli (Hazel Leaf-roller). #UKBeetles #UKInverts
Psammoecus bipunctatus: a tiny orange brown beetle with a pair of black spots on the rear wing cases sitting on a pale plastic tray.
Swept the tiny beetle Psammoecus bipunctatus from pond side vegetation at Cornmill Meadows in the Lee Valley yesterday. #EssexWildlife #UKBeetles
Dorsal view of Orchesia micans, found in my house in July. A dark reddish brown beetle getting greatly darker towards the front. It has a smooth outline, long hind tibia and shallowly clubbed antennae. #beetle #Coleoptera
Side view of Orchesia micans, found in my house in July. #UKinverts
Still working through specimens from last year… Here’s a beetle family-tick from 11th July: Orchesia micans (Melandryidae). I found this one indoors at home. Not very common apparently. #UKBeetles
Upper side of Great Diving Beetle in plastic bucket.
Upper side of Great Diving Beetle in plastic bucket.
Side on view of upside down Great Diving Beetle in plastic bucket.
Under side of Great Diving Beetle in plastic bucket
Rescued a Great Diving Beetle (Dytiscus marginalis) found in a milk bottle bucket under a porch light in Upshire, yesterday morning. Returned to a nearby pond. #EssexWildlife #UKBeetles
The lacebug Kalama tricornis, a very small #bug with lacy edges to the pronotum and lacy wings. Its antennae - or rather its antenna as one is missing - is thickly hairy.
Another view of the same #lacebug, Kalama tricornis. #UKinverts
The inconspicuous ladybird Angle-spotted Scymnus (Scymnus frontalis). A small black beetle with a pair of large orangey-red spots on the wing-cases. The appendages (legs, antennae and, not visible here, palps) are orangey-brown. #InconspicuousLadybird
A side view of the same Angle-spotted Scymnus (Scymnus frontalis). #UKladybird #ladybird
I enjoyed some productive suction-sampling today. Lots still to identify but among the highlights was my first (long-awaited) lacebug: Kalama tricornis. Also Angle-spotted Scymnus (Scymnus frontalis), one of the commoner inconspicuous ladybirds to have eluded me until now. #UKbugs #UKbeetles
Black and yellow Long Horn Beetle about to take off - Devon, June 2025 #ukwildlife #ukinsects #ukbeetles #insects #insectsofbluesky #beetlesofbluesky
Rose Chafer: metallic green beetle with thin wavy white lines on wing cases climbing up base of outside light.
Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata) seen in Upshire, Essex a few days ago. Always a pleasure to this spectacular species. #UKBeetles #EssexWildlife
Metallic green beetle sitting on leaf.
Mating pair of metallic beetles on leaf
Metallic beetle sitting on leaf
Patch of bramble leaves with small green beetles sitting on top
Several groups of Bramble Jewel Beetle (Agrilus cuprescens) sitting on the tops of bramble leaves at Abbey Gardens, Waltham Abbey, Essex this week. #UKBeetles #EssexWildlife
Lesser stag beetle on wooden fence. Bodily organs and fluids decorate its exterior.
Closer view of its front end.
My SECOND stag beetle of 2025, albeit this time a Lesser stag, and again it's a casualty of human traffic. Dying, after being stepped on on a path. #ukbeetles #stagbeetle
Rose Chafer: a chunky metallic green beetle head down on a pale pink rose flower.
A Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata) on a rose in Abbey Gardens, Waltham Abbey, Essex today. First seen in flight and managed to follow it until it landed. #UKBeetles #EssexWildlife
Wasp beetle
White-pinion spotted
Small phoenix
Some insects seen at the weekend while out for various walks in the current heatwave. #teammoth #mothsmatter #insectsuk #ukbeetles
Wasp Beetle: black beetle with yellow stripes and brown legs on green leaf.
A Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietis) in a garden in Upshire, Essex today. #UKBeetles #EssexWildlife
Cramp-ball Fungus Weevil: black and white mottled beetle on comfrey leaf.
Cramp-ball Fungus Beetle
Cramp-ball Fungus Weevil
Cramp-ball Fungus Weevil
Great views of a Cramp-ball Fungus Weevil (Platyrhinus resinosus) in Waltham Abbey, Essex two days ago. #EssexWildlife #UKBeetles
Mating pair of Green Tiger Beetles: metallic green beetles with purple sheen on legs on bare soil background.
Lots of Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris) activity on the bee bank at RSPB Dungeness, Kent yesterday, including this mating pair. #UKBeetles #KentWildlife
A shiny green ground beetle amongst grass stems.
A very impressive green sheen on this greenclock beetle (Poecilus cupreus or P. versicolor) found in Waltham Abbey, Essex yesterday. #EssexWildlife #UKBeetles
Cobweb Beetle (Ctesias serra). Larva. Long Melford, Suffolk. 09/04/25
Cobweb Beetle (Ctesias serra). Larva. Long Melford, Suffolk. 26/03/25.
More searching of ancient oak trees has produced three new sites for the Nationally Scarce COBWEB BEETLE (Ctesias serra). Two of the excellent larvae are shown in the attached photographs. Really nice to be able to find these locally. #longmelford #suffolk #ukbeetles
Red and black rove beetle on a plain background
Red and black rove beetle on a plain background
Red and black rove beetle with straw on a plain background
Grassy foreground with a large well vegetated pond beyond with trees in the background.
I think this attractively marked rove beetle might be Paederus riparius, swept from a pond edge at Fishers Green, Essex today. #UKBeetles #EssexWildlife #LeeValleyWildlife
I went searching for the larvae of the Nationally Scarce COBWEB BEETLE (Ctesias serra) with Stuart Read today and was over-the-moon to see this larva that was under a small piece of bark on an ancient oak tree. Amazing! #longmelford #suffolk #ukbeetles
Well that's weird.
Just found a just about alive (but slightly damaged) Stag Beetle on next door's lawn!
#ukbeetles
I think this is Oedemera femoralis? On the wall by the actinic light at Maesteg last night. #ukbeetles
A large brown beetle larva with black markings and head on a pale background.
A large impressive beetle larva found inside a Great Reedmace stem on the edge of a pond on Cornmill Meadows, Essex last week. #EssexWildlife #UKBeetles
Catops fuliginosus. A small black beetle.
Aedeagus of the Catops fuliginosus.
Lurking among my Scraptiidae specimens were 3 beetles that were clearly in the wrong place. They were two more Hallomenus binotatus (Tetratomidae) and, new for me, this Catops fuligonosus (Leiodidae). #UKBeetles
I took pictures of what I think is my first inconspicuous ladybird today. I think this is Rhyzobius lophanthae? or the Bristly Ladybird. Not a native of the UK but has spread rapidly in the south. Found on a Cyprus hedge.
#ladybirdyearlist 1️⃣
#Ladybird #ukbeetles #coleoptera
#macrophotography
