Seasons: July

Glow-worm

The glow-worm is not actually a worm, but a beetle. Males look like typical beetles, but the nightly glow of a female is unmistakeable - lighting up to attract a mate in the darkness of their grassland habitats. Look for the adults in summer.

Common red soldier beetle

The common red soldier beetle is also known as the 'bloodsucker' for its striking red appearance, but it is harmless. It is a beneficial garden insect as the adults eat aphids, and the larvae eat other pests.

Coppery click beetle

The Coppery click beetle is a large, coppery-purple beetle with straw-brown wing cases. It can be found on grassland and farmland, and its larvae are known to feed on roots and damage crops.

Rose chafer

The rose chafer can be spotted on garden flowers, as well as in grassland, woodland edges and scrub.

Common cockchafer

This large, brown beetle can be seen swarming around streetlights in spring. They live underground as larvae for years and emerge as adults often in large numbers. Listen for their characteristic buzzing sound.

Minotaur beetle

So-named for its three bull-like horns, the Minotaur beetle is a large dung beetle found on grassland and heathland from the autumn. Adults drag dung back to their nests for their larvae to feed on.

Rhinoceros beetle

The rhinoceros beetle lives up to its name by sporting a distinctive 'horn' on the males' head. This glossy, blue-black beetle can be found in woods, parks and hedgerows, and depends on dead wood.

Lesser stag beetle

The lesser stag beetle may be smaller than its famous cousin, but it is still a large beetle with large jaws. It can be seen in woods, parks and hedgerows during summer, and depends on dead wood.

Stag beetle

Famous for its fearsome jaws, the stag beetle does not have the bite to match. Look for it in woods, parks and gardens in South East England in summer. Males display their massive jaws to attract females and duel with their rivals.

Common sexton beetle

The Common sexton beetle is one of several burying beetle species in the UK. An undertaker of the animal world, it buries dead animals like mice and birds, and feeds and breeds on the corpses.

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