Adur Terrestrial Beetles 2006 - 2022

 
26 September 2022
A Devil's Coach-horse Beetle, Staphylinus olens, crawled over the tarmac cyclepath near the Toll Bridge.

 
2020
 

4 June 2020

1 June 2020

9 May 2019 Five small blue-green beetles Psilothrix viridicoerulea were spotted on the flower heads of Sea Campion and Mouse-eared Hawkweed on the Widewater flood plain.

2019
 
 

16 June 2019 Thick-legged Flower Beetle  Oedemera nobilis

28 April 2019 Wasp Beetle, Clytus arietis, on an Elm leaf, by the footpath by Frampton's Field, at the top of The Street, Old Shoreham.

 
 

2018

19 June 2018

A female Stag  Beetle flew well over my head in Kingston Lane from Shoreham to Southwick by a row of Elm trees.
 

2017
 
 

20 August 2017 A female larvaform Drilus flavescens beetle was discovered on the concrete path by the swing gate ta Dacre Garden entrance to Anchor Bottom so altogether it was a very varied hour and half..

 

14 June 2017 The most likely species for the green beetle seems to be Cryptocephalus aureolus.  Buckingham Cutting (S)

3 June 2017
Two small green beetles Psilothrix viridicoerulea visited the yellow centres (=disc) of the Seaside Daisy. A steady Strong Breeze (Force 5) off the sea impaired close-up photography on Shoreham Beach.
 

16 May 2017 Isomira murina A small 12 mm long beetle on the lower slopes of Mill Hill.    ID by Richard Wright on Beetles of Britain and Ireland facebook

7 May 2017 Beetles at Widewater Psilothrix viridicoerulea   Photographs by Yvonne McKeown on Lancing & Sompting Wildlife  facebook

2016
 
 

24 September 2016 This black beetle (not Poecilus) crawled across the path through the churchyard of St. Mary de Haura in the middle of Shoreham.  This is Pterostichus (either aethiops, or, more probably, the dark-legged form of madidus) ID by Boris

22 September 2016
A Devil's Coach Beetle, Staphylinus olens, crawled across the cyclepath near the Cement Works.

14 August 2016

 
The black ground carabid beetle crawled over a plate in the Car Boot Sale field, north of Old Shoreham. Habitat: damp meadow (during a dry period)
This is Feronia nigrita (Pterostichus n.), a member of the sub-family Harpalinae of the Carabidae or Ground Beetles. It is usually nocturnal, hunting at night for all sorts of invertebrates. Commonly found in woods and gardens. (WRONG)

ID & Comments by Tim Rayner  facebook

Other people (Rik Harris, Boris) have identified it as Poecilus cupreus/versicolor.
NB:  Poecilus has keeled antenomeres which you can just see and also first two are light coloured. Feronia nigrita (now called Pterostichus nigrita) has none of these.

ID & Comments by Rik Harris
on Beetles of Britain and Ireland  facebook

Poecilus cupreus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Description: 11-13 mm long dull coppery-green predatory ground beetle living in damp meadows.

Poecilus versicolor (Sturm, 1824)
Description: 9-12 mm long green or brassy to reddish, often bi-coloured, diurnal ground beetle. Usually found living in dry grassland, (heaths, downland, cliff tops etc.) or bare sandy places.

Poecilus Bonelli, 1810
Comparison images

Thick-legged Flower Beetle  Oedemera nobilis	Rhagonycha fulva (a Soldier Beetle, Cantharidae)

24 June 2016 A small brown beetle was discovered on the lower slopes of Mill Hill to be Omaloplia ruricola. This scarab (chafer beetle) is Nationally Scarce B species and found on calcareous grasslands. TQ 21064 07294.  ID by Stewart Bevan PS:  This looks very much like but not a Common Cockchafer, Melolontha melolontha.   The most widely established assessment system for rarity and scarcity is based around presence of species in the hectads of the Ordnance Survey National Grid. Nationally Rare is conventionally defined as species which are found in 15 or fewer hectads. Nationally Scarce (also termed Nationally Notable) relates to species which are found in between 16 and 100 hectads. This category is subdivided into Nationally Scarce (Nationally Notable) A—species found in 16 to 30 hectads, and Nationally Scarce (Nationally Notable) B—species found in between 31 and 100 hectads. A status of Local is also sometimes used, referring to species found in between 101 and 300 hectads.

25 May 2016 Psilothrix viridicoerulea Shoreham Beach East

20 April 2016 The black ground beetle Silpha atrata crawled rapidly over the short herbs on the lower slopes of Mill Hill in the middle of the afternoon.  It is also called Phosphuga atrata and tapered at front end to eat snails.

2014
 

1 June 2014 After examining a Charlock flowering on Shoreham Beach (on the east verge of the Shoreham Fort car park) I discovered a small green beetle on a Charlock leaf. Although at a distance it looked like a common beetle, a poor quality photograph revealed it to be a almost certainly a beetle from the genus Psilothrix, possibly Psilothrix viridicoerulea, the latter species often common on sand dune beaches on the English Channel coast.      17 April 2014 A Dung Beetle possibly Aphodius fimetarius was discovered on Mill Hill.  Dung Beetle Report & Image by Su Reed

30 August 2013 A Bloody-nosed Beetle, Timarcha tenebricosa, was found crawling very slowly over the stony bridlepath in west Steyning, to the south of Mouse Lane on the edge of the forested downs, near some winter cattle pasture.    ID by Keith Lugg on Insects of Britain and Northern Europe facebook

4 May 2011
The small red beetle Rhagonycha fulva (a Soldier Beetle, Cantharidae) was seen on Stinging Nettles on the opposite side of the Coombes Road to the Ladywell's House.

17 April 2011
All of the few Horseshoe Vetch flowers and occasional Daisies, on the lower slopes of Mill Hill, were covered in tiny black pollen beetles Meligethes, and the slightly larger shiny green beetle Cryptocephalus crawled amongst the vegetation.

29 March 2011
On the lower slopes of Mill Hill I found a nationally scarce carabid beetle Licinus depressus which has specially adapted jaws to feed on snails. It was only 10  mm long.

20 March 2011
I recorded my first beetle of the year, the very small Paederus littoralis seen on a plastic cap on Mill Hill Cutting (south, amongst Ivy leaves next to the Pixie Path),
 

20 July 2010
A brown larva of the Drilus beetle was spotted crawling across a steep path amongst the Hawthorn scrub.

6 September 2009
A Dor Beetle lay dying on the chalk path, south of the reservoir on the southern part of Mill Hill.
Adur Dor Beetles
 

8 June 2009 About twenty of the small brown beetles illustrated on the left were flying around in the undergrowth. It could be Lagria hirta.

7 June 2009 A female Stag Beetle, Lucanus cervus, crawled across the pavement of Buckingham Road, Shoreham, just north of the junction with Nicolson Drive.

27 May 2009 A male Stag Beetle was rescued from the middle of The Street, Old Shoreham, at the top end next to Frampton's Field and thrown back into the narrow band of Elm trees. Stag Beetles (Sussex Wildlife Trust) on Facebook

 

20 April 2008
On the lower slopes of Mill Hill, the first Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis comosa, was seen in flower with the accompanying pollen beetles, Meligethes erichsoni. Paederus littoralis were seen without looking for them on the path through the scrub in the north-west of Mill Hill.

5 & 10 June 2007 These small green beetles Cryptocephalus  and small black pollen beetles Meligethes are commonly seen in spring. The most common plant the black pollen beetles visit is the Hawkbit illustrated on the right. A different species of Meligethes may visit Horseshoe Vetch and another one for Oil Seed Rape.  Royal Horticultural Society web page on Pollen Beetles (Meligethes species) Checklist of UK Recorded Nitidulidae

The most likely species for the green beetle seems to be Cryptocephalus aureolus.  I have recorded this beetle on Hawkbits, Bulbous Buttercups, Kidney Vetch, Pyramidal Orchid and probably* on Mouse-eared Hawkweed. All these occurrences are evidenced by photographs. (*Plant ID is unclear from the photograph.) Checklist of UK Recorded Chrysomelidae

30 August 2006
 

A Violet Ground Beetle, Carabus violaceus, hid underneath the discarded chestnut fencing on the Pixie Path.

29 July 2006
A female Stag Beetle was flying around in our lounge in Mill Hill Close (south of Mill Hill) after darkness. This is number five we have seen. They were surprisingly nimble in flight but very noisy.

18 June 2006 The remains of three Stag Beetles were seen on a woodland path at Lancing Ring. Some predator (experts think of Magpies) must have eaten the juicy bits. The beetle Dascillus cervinus was also discovered. This fawn coloured beetle is a common downland species. Image of Dascillus cervinus Photographs by Ray Hamblett on the  Lancing Ring Nature Notes and on flickr British Insects & Other Arthropods

12 June 2006 Thick-legged Flower Beetle  Oedemera nobilis This is a common and widespread species.

2 June 2006
A Devil's Coach Horse Beetle was seen underneath the discarded chestnut fencing on the the Pixie Path.
 

27 May 2006 This little red beetle was spotted on the Sompting Brooks, where the gardens meet the wild strouds. It is only about 6 mm long. Report & Photograph by June Bratton It is Endomychus coccineus and it is sometimes called the False Ladybird. It feeds on the fungus on the bark of rotten deciduous trees.  Identification by Malcolm Storey (BioImages) on the British Insects Yahoo Group

15 May 2006 A species of Click Beetle (Elateridae) on the lower slopes of Mill Hill. ID by Bill Grange The underneath picture is the insect inverted.  Maybe Prosternon tessellatum  (my guess)   Paederus littoralis were still present under the discarded Chestnut fencing on the Pixie Path. Click Beetles List

7 May 2006 This small species of bug or beetle (leaf beetle?) was seen in a garden in north Shoreham. It looks like a pest species.  This could be Plagiodera versicolora ?

9 April 2006
The beetles Paederus littoralis were still present under the discarded Chestnut fencing on the Pixie Path.

18 January 2006
Under the discarded Chestnut fencing on the Pixie Path, most of the dozen wood lice and a few spiders scampered off too quickly for the camera. One colourful Rove Beetle (Staphylinida) was slower and is shown on the left. There were three or four of these flightless beetles known as Paederus littoralis. The book (Chinery) says that this beetle is to be found in damp places. The specific name rather indicates the shore. These beetles contain a fluid called paederin which can cause the skin to peel and is more serious if it comes into contact with your eyes. There are examples of serious dermatitis caused by this substance (Beetle Juice). The front of the abdomen is called the elytra.

The identification has not been confirmed, but it seems probable. The British species of the same genus are:

Paederus caligatus Erichson, 1840
Paederus fuscipes Curtis, 1826
Paederus littoralis Gravenhorst, 1802
Paederus riparius (Linnaeus, 1758)  The specific name indicates a river.

This is a hardy species and one specimen has survived 22 days to 2 March 2006 in an airtight container (35 mm film capsule) without food or water.

British Beetles Yahoo Group

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