Bee-eating beetle
The bee-eating beetle is a very hairy beetle with bright red wing covers and black bands. Its bold colours warn hungry animals to stay away. It is often seen sitting on flowers in the summer sun.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
The mother lays her eggs close to bee and wasp nests, and the larvae creep in to feed.
It does not like to fly much and trusts its warning colours to keep it safe.
A black stripe down the middle of its back helps tell it apart from a very similar cousin.
It used to live in England, but died out there in the 1800s.
Grown-ups can be found on flowers from May to August.
Most asked questions about Bee-eating beetle
?Does the bee-eating beetle eat bees?
Its larvae eat young bees and wasps in their nests. The grown-ups eat pollen and small insects.
?Is the bee-eating beetle dangerous?
No. It is harmless to people.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Trichodes alvearius
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Cleridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Cleridae
- Lives on
- Europe, Africa
Where the facts come from
- Trichodes alvearius (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Didier Descouens. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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