Lagria hirta

Description

This beetle 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.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Found mostly in areas with light or sandy soils.

When to see it

May to August.

Life History

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.

UK Status

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.

VC55 Status

The species is fairly common in suitable areas of Leicestershire and Rutland. There were a total of 62 VC55 records for this species up to March 2015.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Species group:
Beetles
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Coleoptera
Family:
Tenebrionidae
Records on NatureSpot:
133
First record:
28/06/2009 (Calow, Graham)
Last record:
30/07/2024 (Dejardin, Andrew)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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