Selatosomus aeneus

Length 11to 17 mm. A large, metallic species with wide pronotum and elytra and no obvious covering of hairs. Colour ranges from green/gold to green/purple. Ridges are obvious down the length of the elytra. The legs are dark brown/black in colour and the antennae are the length of the pronotum. 

Predominantly upland meadows and conifer plantations, but will also be found in lowland grasslands.

All year round.

Larvae develop underground in soil, in leaf litter, in fungi or in decomposing stumps. They are primarily phytophagous feeding on seeds, seedlings, roots and other underground parts of various plant species, but are also known to be coprophagous feeding on the faeces of ruminants. They are bright yellow and reach 25mm in length and 3.3mm in width. 

A rather infrequent species, mainly found in Wales and the English Midlands.

Occasional in Leicestershire and Rutland. There were approximately 20 VC55 records for this species up to March 2015.