Cardinal Beetle [Pyrochroa serraticornis]

Cardinal Beetle [Pyrochroa serraticornis], a photo by Peter Orchard on Flickr.

Soldier beetles are everywhere now but, if you like beetles, it is good time to take a closer look as amongst the three common reddish coloured soldiers may find something like this Cardinal Beetle.

Named the Cardinal Beetle because of the scarlet colour of its wing cases and thorax it also resembles a cardinals hat too so it is doubly aptly named. This species has a scarlet head as well, there is a similar species with a black head called Pyrochroa coccinea that has a black head.
You will find Cardinal Beetles on flower heads, especially umbelliferae and thistles, but it is not a pollen hunter, it preys on small insects that are pollen hunters. Its larvae are also insect eaters but they live in rotting tree stumps and trunks.

A smartly dressed little insect and worthy of attention in my view.