Cantharis lateralis

Length: 5-7mm. The head and elytra are grey-black but the pronotum is orange, sometimes with small dark marks. The legs are usually all yellow/orange except the black rear tibiae.

On thistles and umbellifers.

Late spring and summer.

Widely distributed throughout southern England and the midlands to south Yorkshire with a few scattered records from the west country, west Wales, East Anglia and the north.

Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland. There were a total of 37 VC55 records for this species up to March 2015.