Taxonomy
- Polyphaga
- Chrysomeloidea
- Chrysomelidae
- Timarcha
- Timarcha tenebricosa
Common name
Bloody-nosed Beetle
Images
Source: Philip Precey
Source: Roger Key
Description
Size: 11-18mm
Basic colour: Blue-black
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour
Confusion species: Timarcha goettingensis
Basic colour: Blue-black
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour
Confusion species: Timarcha goettingensis
The largest British chrysomelid, known for exuding a drop of red fluid from the mouth when alarmed.
Biology
Status: Not threatened, though may be declining in eastern midland England.
Habitat: Various, mainly open, especially on free-draining soils.
Host plant: Bedstraws (Galium), crosswort (Cruciata laevipes), woodruffs (Asperula) and madders (Rubia)
Overwintering: Adults can survive for 14 months or more, and so can be found in all months.
Food: Adults and larvae feed on leaves and stems of bedstraws
Other notes: Duller than T. goettingensis with random, dense, tiny punctures. Pronotum constricts more sharply after rounded hind-angles than in T. goettingensis.
Habitat: Various, mainly open, especially on free-draining soils.
Host plant: Bedstraws (Galium), crosswort (Cruciata laevipes), woodruffs (Asperula) and madders (Rubia)
Overwintering: Adults can survive for 14 months or more, and so can be found in all months.
Food: Adults and larvae feed on leaves and stems of bedstraws
Other notes: Duller than T. goettingensis with random, dense, tiny punctures. Pronotum constricts more sharply after rounded hind-angles than in T. goettingensis.
Articles
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(2013), Timarcha tenebricosa (Fabricius) (Chrysomelidae) confirmed in VC 65 north-west Yorkshire The Coleopterist 22(2):83