Their favourite habitats are dry grassland and sand dunes. They’re the most unbeweevable weevils, if you will! The future of mech-actions games is here! The rose chafer beetle flies noisily from flower to flower on warm summer days. Metallic blue, green, and orange beetle (Catascopus sp of the Carabidae family) [west-papua_5955] Weevil [costa_rica_la_selva_0786] Green beetle with an orange head. Originally these magnificent weevils were only found in South America but somehow or another they were brought over to Florida where a population of the metallic bugs is now thriving in the southern part of the state. Video: This Dog Barks Like a Person Screaming For His Life, Video: Tiny Pig Goes Down Stairs After Oatmeal. They’re popular with insect collectors who value the animal’s variable coloration which ranges from a metallic blue-green to a darker blue. 'You can see them on warm June evenings flying alongside wooded roads or just walking on the pavement, in places like Kew, Richmond, Barnes and Wimbledon. The parent beetles work together to create a nursery for their young in an underground chamber with a mammal or bird corpse. This beautiful beetle is declining in the UK and is only found in North Yorkshire and Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. They are longer than its body, which is typical of longhorn beetles. They are caught on trees, if Northern Hemisphere its April, if its Southern, its January. We're now closed and hope to reopen in early December. Find out more.Â, Ladybirds are very familiar British beetles and the seven-spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) is one of the most common. These cookies do not store any personal information. 'Wherever there are green spaces - such as graveyards, parks and gardens - lots of different beetles can be found. Where do I catch a Earth-Boring Dung Beetle? Watch the video to find out more. It is about 8mm long. © Gabriele Wahl/ Shutterstock.com. This eye-catching beetle has large bulges on the males' femora, or thighs, and is also known as the swollen-thighed beetle. 'Even more managed parks like Hyde Park have some rare species and some very uncommon ones have been found in the Museum's Wildlife Garden. Beulah says, 'Beetles eat almost anything and this is what makes them so successful. ', Rosemary beetles are metallic green with purple stripes. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Thank you. Acorn weevils are just 4-8mm long and have a brownish pattern on their bodies © Bernard Dupont (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr. No matter the size, every gift to the Museum is critical to our 300 scientists' work in understanding and protecting the natural world. Â. Despite the mounting pressures, hope is not lost. Words barely do this one justice! This beetle is widespread in England and Wales, but scarcer in Scotland.Â, The green tiger beetle is a shiny green colour with creamy-yellow spots and bronze-purple legs. The larvae live in dry, dead wood such as willow and birch. To complete it’s camouflage act, the weevil will hold tight to grass and then drop off when it comes into contact with something. Acorn weevils live in oak woodland. Was looking on Palm trees but actually can't find! They are about 8mm long. Not only is this one of the most breathtaking weevils I’ve ever seen, but it’s one of the most impressive bugs in general. Some species thrive on various parts of plants, others on decaying organic material and some even feed on animal waste. Additional features distinguish this group from other insects, as Beulah Garner, Senior Curator of Beetles at the Museum, explains: 'What makes a beetle is its two pairs of wings. ". 'And because of trade in plants - for gardens, etc - cities are often the first place where new species for the UK arrive, from countries like Italy and Spain. © Ruth Swan/ Shutterstock.com. Join me and the rest of the Featured Creature community as we learn about the weirdest, coolest, and craziest animals out there. The elongated neck isn’t used for foraging like regular giraffes, but instead to assist in nest building and fighting. The 'tiger' in this beetle's name refers to its powerful jaws or mandibles, which it uses to catch small invertebrates. Native to southern Europe, the species probably arrived here on an imported rosemary plant. Some tiger beetles are known to reach speeds of nine kilometres per hour. As carrion beetles eat decaying animal remains, they recycle nutrients back into the soil. Read on to find out about some of the UK's other beautiful beetles. © OscarSurmano/ Shutterstock.com. The rosemary beetle was first spotted in the UK in London in 1994 and quickly spread through much of the UK. Here are 17 of the most beautiful and standout UK beetles: The rose chafer is iridescent golden-green and around 20mm long © Chrumps (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons. Adult wasp beetles are excellent pollinators and can be seen from May to July on flowers in woods and hedgerows. A stag beetle about to take flight © Czesznak Zsolt/ Shutterstock.com. This beetle may look like a ladybird with its red and black markings, but it is not. Plenty are easy to identify. We must act on scientific evidence, we must act together, and we must act now. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Interesting Insects showcases weird, wonderful and surprisingly beautiful insects from the Museum's collection. It is a truly impressive insect, which looks like it is from the tropics. The female uses her longer rostrum to bore into the centre of an acorn where she lays her egg. Museum scientists are working hard to understand and fight against the threats facing British wildlife.Â. From as little as £2, you can help us to find new ways to protect nature. Get in touch with the Museum's Identification and Advisory Service, for example by emailing us or posting your query on our Facebook group. The minotaur beetle is glossy black and males have three spectacular prongs jutting from the middle part of their bodies. 'Beetles are nature's housekeepers,' says Beulah. It feeds on mildew on plants. They probably arrived on an imported plant. Red beetles. Our future depends on nature, but we are not doing enough to protect our life support system. Â, British wildlife is under threat. Adults feed on cow parsley, nettles and hogweed, while the larvae live and feed on plants like thistles. For example, the dung beetle's lifecycle is dependent on the availability of dung. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. This species eats pollen and pollinates plants in the process of moving from flower to flower. © Bernard Dupont (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr. They are used in forensic entomology to help determine time of death. 'The males have the big antlers, hence the name stag beetle, which they use to fight over the females. * Untreated agaves are at high risk of infestation. It reaches about 11mm long. Image: Pudding4brains (CC0 1.0) via Wikimedia Commons.