Belongs to: beetles

Soldier beetle Rhagonycha fulva

A very common little beetle often seen on the flat flowerheads of plants such as cow parsley and hogweed

Habitat: meadows

Very common all over Britain

Brown or black wing-cases with a red or black body, resembling a military uniform; length 1 cm

Often seen from May to July on the flowerheads of umbellifers, feeding on soft-bodied insects

Colours are a warning to birds that they are distasteful

Until the following spring larvae feed on small invertebrates in the soil and leaf litter, such as springtails

A pupa forms in spring, emerging as an adult beetle from May onwards