Subject: Big found!!!
Location: Norwich
March 30, 2017 3:42 pm
Please help found three of these in my house in the last week and have a very young baby so worried invade they carry bugs or bite
Signature: Maria

Soldier Beetle

This beetle is not a threat to your baby.

Thankyou, what type of beetle is it??

Dear Maria,
Your initial request to us did not include an identification request.  It seemed mostly a desperate “stream of consciousness” plea, without punctuation, for assurance that your child would not be threatened.  This appears to be a Soldier Beetle in the family Cantharidae, and we found what appears to be your species on UK Safari where it is identified as Rhagonycha fulva and described as “one of several similar looking beetles which go under the general name of Soldier Beetles or Sailor Beetles.  Soldier beetles have narrow bodies and long antennae. This particular species has brown wing casings with black tips.  They are often seen in large numbers in June and July on flower heads of cow parsley and hogweed. It’s quite rare to see them singly. More often they are seen as mating pairs, earning them the nickname of ‘bonking beetles‘.”  According to The WCG:  “Widely distributed and common throughout England and Wales although more local in the north and southern Scotland.”  Soldier Beetles are beneficial predators that feed on small insects.  From what we have read, this seems to be quite early for this particular species.  Has your weather been unseasonably warm?

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