Monday 4 June 2012

Eye-catching Insects (11): Sailor Beetles ... and a Soldier Beetle

Cantharis rustica
We went out in search of a little sunshine, and encountered this pair of Sailor Beetles in the grounds at Melford Hall in Suffolk. They were in a 'wildlife patch' of nettles, long grass and cow parsley. The black heart in the middle of the pronotum is a key feature of this species.


The record shot immediately above is of a Soldier Beetle I saw at Sutton Hoo on Tuesday. It may be a Common Red, but I am no expert when it comes to these insects.

    3 comments:

    Andrea said...

    Hi Caroline, i wonder why i don't see insects in this position often, even if we have lots of insects. Even with butterflies, i don't see this often or they will part when i come for a photo.

    Mary said...

    Interesting bugs! I wonder why the name "sailor"?

    Nature Rambles said...

    I haven't seen this type of beetles before. Lovely shots, the first one particularly.