Lagria hirta: a darkling beetle -


This small beetle is one of the family Tenebrionidae which are known as darkling beetles, so named as nearly all of the species in the family are dark brown or black. Lagria hirta has a black head, body and legs but the wing cases (the elytra) are a lovely copper brown, the exact colour tends to vary with the light as it has an almost metallic finish. It is also a rather hairy insect and 'hirta' comes loosely from the Latin for hairy.

This is a common species in mid-summer and can be frequently found on flower heads, especially bramble flowers, in dry habitats. Eggs are laid in the soil and the hatching larvae then feed in the decaying leaf matter underneath the flower or shrub, pupating in autumn and overwintering in that state until emerging as an adult in May or June.

Sadly, I cannot find much else about this attractive little beetle.


 


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