Ontholestes tessellatus

Description

Length 14 to 19 mm. A very distinctive rove beetle with some orangey-yellow colouring in the legs. It is similar to Ontholestes murinus but that species has completely dark legs.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Usually found in association with carrion.

When to see it

All year round especially in summer months.

UK Status

It is not a particularly common species being widespread but scattered in England and Wales.

VC55 Status

Occasional in Leicestershire and Rutland. There were 24 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:
Staphylinidae
Records on NatureSpot:
4
First record:
09/05/2015 (Ruddoch, Paul)
Last record:
04/09/2021 (Manning, Tom)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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