Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae sp. (Latreille, 1802))
Scientific name: Mordellidae sp. (Latreille, 1802)
Common name: Tumbling Flower Beetles
Other names: Pintail Beetles
French name: Mordellidés, Mordelles.
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Mordellidae
Wingspan : Generally between 5 and 7 mm, 15 mm maximum for the larger species.
Biotope: Track sides, woodland edges. Adults are often observed on umbellifer flowers and sometimes on dead wood.
Geographic area: Worldwide, just missing in Antarctica. There are about 1500 described species worldwide.
Observation period : Spring and summer in temperate regions.
The Tumbling Flower Beetles are small beetles with an elongated and often arched body. This gives them a slightly hunchbacked appearance. There is a keel under the abdomen. The last abdominal segment forms a sharp point well extending beyond the tip of the elytra backwards.
The head is triangle-shaped when seen from above. The eyes are located at the back on each side of the base of the triangle.
The antennae of 11 articles are thread-like and rather short.
The legs are long and thin.
Tumbling Flower Beetles are used to escaping from their predators by tumbling as mentioned by their common name. They are the only beetles which are able to jump and fly.
The larvae grow in dead wood or in plant stems.

Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae sp.) - Yvelines, France - August 11th 2012
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Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae sp.)
Tumbling Flower Beetles are easily observed on umbellifer flowers in summer. It is almost impossible to tell species apart on pictures.


Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae sp.) - Yvelines, France - August 11th 2012
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Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae sp.)
The triangular head, the arched body ending with a pointed tip are the keys to easily identify this family.


Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae sp.) - Yvelines, France - July 26th 2014
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Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae sp.)
This Tumbling Flower Beetle, observed in my garden, has been very kind to land on the cover of the garbage can.
I have copied the wing in the initial picture size because I have found an identification key (maybe not complete) using the 4 first articles of the antennae.
The shape of the fourth article, clearly triangular here, may help to progress in the identification.

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