| Bloody-nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa (Fabricius, 1775)) |
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Scientific name: Timarcha tenebricosa (Fabricius, 1775) Common name: Bloody-nosed Beetle Other names: Blood Spewer, Blood Spewing Beetle. French name: Crache-sang, Timarque, Chrysomèle noire. Order: Coleoptera Family: Chrysomelidae Wingspan : 12 to 20 mm. Biotope: Grassy places like road sides or woodland edges. Geographic area: All Europe, abundant in the Mediterranean area. Observation period : Since the first hot days of March. |
The Bloody-nosed Beetle is a dome-shaped coleoptera. It is a black colour with a light blue sheen. There are brighter blue or violet forms. The elytra are a dull colour. They are smooth and fused together so that the Bloody-nosed Beetle cannot fly. The width of the pronotum is shorter at the back. The lateral edges are sinuate close to the base. It has thick, clearly segmented, comb-like antennae. The legs are long, especially the tarsi. They end with two claws. Adults and larvae feed on herbaceous plants of the Galium genus (Bedstraw), mainly Lady's Bedstraw (Galium verum) and White Bedstraw (Galium mollugo). The Bloody-nosed Beetle's common name comes from the fact that it is used to exuding a drop of bad-smelling red fluid from its mouth when threatened. This liquid is Hemolymph. It is used to repulse eventual predators. The similar species, Timarcha goettingensis, is a slightly smaller size. It shows shinier and more punctuated elytra. The lateral edges of the pronotum are regularly rounded and not sinuate close to the base. Timarcha maritima, which is found among costal dunes is also a smaller size. There are also other species in this genus which are very difficult to tell apart on picture. |
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I have observed this Bloody-nosed Beetle during the day as it was crossing a small street in the middle of a village. Even so, this insect is known to mainly have nocturnal habits. I have listed it as Timarcha tenebricosa because of its large size and because of the smooth surface and dull colour of the elytra. |
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Having a doubt on the body size, the lateral edges of the pronotum appearing very lightly sinuate and the elytra appearing slightly shiny, I have only listed this one as Timarcha sp.. |
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Here is the typical form of the large larva of Timarcha sp. I will try to find one adult near this place to have an indication about the species. |
André Bon June 2016