Lagria hirta, Darkling Beetle

Common Name: Darkling Beetle

A regularly encountered beetle, Lagria hirta, or the Darkling Beetle, is most often found on low foliage during the day and has conspicuous yellow-brown wing cases with a darker head. It also has a rather odd oval sort of shape. The whole animal is conspicuously bristly. The adults feed on nectar and pollen on open-structured flowers such as Daisies or members of the Carrot family.

The larvae eat decaying plant material in leaf litter and turf. This is a fairly common species in sandy places in southern Britain, becoming more localised in the north, where most records seem to be from coastal areas, perhaps reflecting its preference for sandy soils.

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