#timarcha

my main source of praise for Timarcha lusitanica, a bumbling chrysomelid that i encounter fairly often throughout the year, are its legs and their colorful metallic sheen under the right lighting. this is not the right lighting and this post is not about them. this post is about its shoes

Would you be able to ID this guy? I saw him a couple years ago in a woodland in Oxfordshire, England

(I had a really pretty beetle sit on me recently in Greece but I didn’t get a photo, but I thought you’d be interested nonetheless, she was a shiny iridescent colour)(i don’t expect you to ID her too, I just found her pretty and wanted to mention her)

Beetle ID - UK:

THIS friend is a Bloody-nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa), family Chrysomelidae.

Bloody-nosed beetle | The Wildlife Trusts

Bloody-Nosed Beetles - Timarcha tenebricosa - UK Safari

Someone else I met on my walk today 🌿🖤

This could be Timarcha goettingensis (not 100% sure though).

It’s a leaf beetle in the genus Timarcha! Probably either Timarcha tenebricosa, the bloody-nosed beetle, or possibly Timarcha nicaeensis. The bloody-nosed beetle is known for its defensive reflex bleeding! It breaks thin membranes in its mouth to exude its gross-tasting hemolymph (bug blood) to deter predators from eating it. I’m honestly not sure if all Timarcha species use defensive bleeding? I suppose I would assume they did, the bloody-nosed beetle is just the most common species, hence why it has a common name and the others don’t.

Blood Spewer aka Bloody-nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa), family Chrysomelidae, Germany

This beetle is capable of exuding bright red and foul tasting hemolymph from its mouth, to help defend itself from predators.

despite sporting the usual chrysomelid shape, Timarcha larvae like this T. lusitanica here have a fairly novel texture that may lead you to think they're harvested to create faux leather, but this is a misconception - in truth, faux leather is harvested to create them. avoid buying it to ensure a healthy supply remains for your local beetle populations

Timarcha lusitanica is my obligatory endemic identical counterpart to the more well known T. tenebricosa, also known as the bloody-nosed beetle. these hefty chrysomelids can be seen all year if you're lucky but are more common during autumn and winter, waddling through leaf litter and on walls with their ridiculous shoes

speaking of which, the metallic sheen on their legs that can vary from purple to bronze is apparently the best way to differentiate them from the more matte/pure black T. tenebricosa. i don't know if they're capable of doing the Gross Hemolymph Vomit Attack™ that the latter is famous for, as i've annoyed them plenty and seen zero defensive reactions

this Timarcha lusitanica was very agreeable about having my hand near it and decided to explore it for a bit. taking photos of big beetles gets a little trickier when they're trundling all over you and hiding underneath your fingers, but the movement makes it easier to see the metallic sheen on its legs even in muted lighting