Sphaeridium lunatum
Sphaeridium lunatum
Description
Length 5.5 to 7.5 mm. A very smooth, blackish dome shaped beetle with pale yellow tips to the elytra and faint reddish blotches on its sides.
Identification difficulty
Identification aids
- 5.5-7.5mm
- black with yellow tips to elytra (may also have red patches)
- hind angle of pronotum >90 degrees
- pronotum all black (no yellow on side margins)
- mid and hind femora all black
- (ideally gen det of male to confirm)
Recording advice
Requires gen det to be certain of species.
Habitat
Around herbivorous animals.
When to see it
April to October.
Life History
Adults feed on the fresh dung of herbivorous animals; their young are predators of small insect larvae.
UK Status
Fairly frequent and widespread in England and Wales.
VC55 Status
Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland. There were a total of 32 VC55 records for this species up to March 2015.
David Nicholls
Ulverscroft
21 June 2014
AJ Cann
Billesdon Woodland Pool
03 February 2024
David Gould
Croft Pasture
26 June 2014
Graham Calow
Sapcote
20 July 2013
specimen examined
David Nicholls
Westfields Tennis Club
08 April 2010
David Nicholls
Desford Charity Fields
21 June 2025
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
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MAP KEY:
Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020
UK Map
Additional images
No additional images available for this species.