Aphanus rolandri

Aphanus rolandri

Description

Length 6 to 8 mm.  A large and very distinctive black ground bug with a dark red or orange spot at the base of the wing membrane; confusion with other species is unlikely.

Identification difficulty
ID checklist (your specimen should have all of these features)

Relatively easy to identify and unlikely to be confused with anything else.

Habitat

A. rolandri has been found in a variety of dry, sheltered and well-drained habitats which have a thin covering of leaf litter or stones, such as chalk pits, cliffsides and (historically) cultivated arable fields.

When to see it

Adult: All year.  

Life History

Adults overwinter, becoming active in the spring. The new generation is complete by August.  

UK Status

A scarce species known primarily from the south of England between Cornwall and Kent, with a scatter of records as far north as North Norfolk and the Midlands. 

VC55 Status

Status in Leicestershire and Rutland not known.

Further Information

This species was named by Linnaeus in 1758 after one of his followers, Daniel Rolander, after they fell out over money. The Latin binomial means "Obscure Rolander". 

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

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.

All NatureSpot records