Rustic sailor beetle
Its dark, velvety larva hunts through leaf litter and soil for months before the short-lived winged adult even appears in spring.
| Where | Grassland, hedgerows, scrub margins |
|---|---|
| Size | 9 to 13 mm long |
| When | April to June |
This soldier beetle has a black head and black wing cases, but its pronotum is orange-red with a small black spot near the centre, shaped a little like a heart. The legs are mostly black, though the femora often show some red close to the body.
Adults appear on flowers and foliage in spring, where they hunt aphids and other small insects, while the dark, velvety larvae live in leaf litter and soil, hunting there from late summer until they pupate the following spring.
Traits
Habitat
Grassland
Colour
Black, Red
Active
Day
To people
Harmless; adults prey on aphids and other small insects
Activity through the year
Often confused with
The livid soldier beetle has reddish-brown wing cases and mostly reddish legs, while the rustic sailor beetle has black wing cases and black mid and hind legs.
Questions
Is the Rustic sailor beetle dangerous to people?
Harmless; adults prey on aphids and other small insects.
When can you see the Rustic sailor beetle?
The Rustic sailor beetle can be seen from April to June, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Francisco Welter-Schultes, CC0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
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Beetles›Soldier beetles›Cantharis
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.