Spotted longhorn beetle
Its black and yellow pattern is so variable that individual beetles can turn up almost entirely black or almost entirely yellow.
| Where | Woodland edges, hedgerows, flowery meadows |
|---|---|
| Size | 13 to 20 mm body length |
| When | May to August |
A narrow-bodied longhorn beetle with yellow wing cases marked by variable black spots and bands, black antennae with yellow bases, and mostly yellow legs.
Larvae take two to three years to develop inside decaying wood before adults emerge to feed on pollen at flowers such as umbellifers and bramble.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Yellow, Black
Active
Day
To people
Harmless
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Black-striped longhorn beetle is smaller, only 6 to 10 mm, slimmer, and has all-black legs, unlike the mostly yellow legs of the spotted longhorn beetle.
Questions
Is the Spotted longhorn beetle dangerous to people?
The Spotted longhorn beetle is harmless to people.
When can you see the Spotted longhorn beetle?
The Spotted longhorn beetle can be seen from May to August, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Francisco Welter-Schultes, CC0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
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Beetles›Longhorn beetles›Rutpela
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.