The Bloody-nosed beetle is a distinctive beetle with its almost comical bulky shape. It is a flightless leaf-beetle, one of the largest leaf beetles. It has a large domed body and is black with a slight purplish hue. It can be approximately 2cm long. The larvae of the bloody-nosed beetle are soft and slug like and are metallic black in colour.
The bloody-nosed beetle is found mainly in southern England. It generally prefers grassland and can often be seen trundling over turf and bare ground on sunny days. It feeds on species of bedstraw plants (Galium spp.) and other low growing plants. The bedstraw plant is a common plant and includes species such as cleavers and lady's bedstraw. The larva can be seen hanging from leaves of the bedstraw feeding if you look carefully.
Aprils onwards is the time to start looking for these slow moving beetles. They appear from hibernation in April to breed. Over wintering eggs also hatch at this time and the larvae spend spring and early summer feeding. These develop into adults by late July and these feed up until the end of August when they either go into hibernation for the winter or die. These late summer adults often breed and produce over wintering eggs.
The bloody-nosed beetle is often seen trundling along the Roman Road on sunny days often on the bare chalk where its seen at its best. It can also be seen on Fleam Dyke and other grassy sites throughout the area. Keep your eyes peeled for its distinctive shape.
The bloody-nosed beetle gets its name from its defensive strategy. When disturbed it exudes a drop of red blood-like substance from its mouth. This frightens predators and apparently tastes very bitter. Predators quickly learn not to snack on the bloody-nosed beetle!
For for National Invertebrate Week 2004 we held events looking at moths, butterflies and insects on Fleam Dyke and Devil's Dyke, and explored the wonderful creepy crawlies that live in Harston Orchard. If you would like to come out with us to look for the bloody-nosed beetle and other invertebrates keep an eye on our events page.
Information about National Invetebrate Week can be found at http://www.nationalinsectweek.co.uk
Find out about what's been seen on our sightings page, or take a look at details of some of the projects and sites that we work on.