| Four-spotted Carrion Beetle (Dendroxena quadrimaculata (Scopoli, 1771)) |
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Scientific name: Dendroxena quadrimaculata (Scopoli, 1771) Common name: Four-spotted Carrion Beetle French name: Silphe à quatre points Order: Coleoptera Family: Silphidae Wingspan : 12-14 mm. Biotope: Deciduous or mixed forests with oaks. Geographic area: Europe north to southern Scandinavia, rarer or even missing in the Mediterranean regions. Observation period : May to September. |
The Four-spotted Carrion Beetle shows an oval-shaped and flattened body. It is a global beige colour with four black spots on the elytra, the two first ones located on the front edge, the two other ones at two third of the length of the elytra. The scutellum is black. The pronotum is a translucent-looking brown yellow colour on the lateral sides where it is slightly upcurved. It bears a broad black central band not touching the hind edge. The legs, head and antennae are black. The Four-spotted Carrion Beetle feeds on caterpillars, in particular those of the Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) species or those of the Oak Processionary (Thaumetopoea processionea) species. It may also feed on other larvae. Females lay their eggs in the soil. The larvae are black and they are predators like adults. The new brood will emerge the same year and will over winter at the adult stage in the litter. |
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I have observed this Four-spotted Carrion Beetle on a woodland edge, on low growing vegetation. |
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Four-spotted Carrion Beetles are easy insects to tell apart. There is no possible confusion. |
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I have tried to shoot a front view but the sharpness of the picture is not perfect. The last articles of the antennae are a paler colour. |
André Bon April 2018