Length 10 to 17 mm. This species is distinctive due to the dense scale-like pubescence which almost covers the dorsal surface.

Unless identified by a recognised expert, a photo is required. If the photo doesn't show the key ID features then in the comments box describe the size and identifying characters you have observed.

The typical habitats in the U.K. are open scrubland, grassland and dune slacks.

Adults appear early in the year, from April or May and remain active into June or July.

Larval development takes two years and pupation occurs in the soil in late summer, adults eclose in the autumn and overwinter in their pupal cells, emerging in the spring.

In the U.K. it is generally distributed although local through England and Wales with most records from western coastal regions, especially around Wales and Cumbria, inland records are scattered with many from the Thames and Severn basins, becoming progressively rarer further north.

Rarely recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland.