NEN Gallery

The common red soldier beetle grows to aroumnd a centimetre. Nearly all their body is coloured orange-red but the last bit of the elytra is black. The body is flat and elongated. The chitin armour is very soft. They have black thread-like antennae and orange coloured legs. This beetle is very common and can be seen in the daytime in bushes or on flowers. They hunt mostly for small insects on top of flowers. The larvae are soil-dwellers which hunt for snails and insects. It takes about a year before they emerge as fully grown beetles. Picture taken 26th July at Hinxworth, Hertfordshire.