Ontholestes tessellatus

Appearance

A very distinctive Rove Beetle, Ontholestes tessellatus is rarely encountered unless deliberately looked for and to find it and even then, is often extremely fast and agile in making its escape. Perhaps the best place to find it is in, or under carrion, but there is confusion with the similar Ontholestes murinus.
Length 14 to 19 mm. A very distinctive rove beetle with some orangey-yellow colouring in the legs. It is similar to Ontholestes murinus but that species has completely dark legs.

Naming

Geoffroy, 1785

Leistotrophus nebulosus (F., 1792) synonym
Ontholestes tessellatus (Fourcroy, 1758) synonym

Distribution

This species is generally common throughout most of the Palaearctic region.

Habitat

Most rove beetles are found in moist habitats in association with soil or decaying organic matter. They may be seen under debris or rocks, in compost piles, or crawling on plants. Adults have even been found in sweet corn tassels and silks late in the season! Some species are predators of the various stages of flies that infest dead animals, so these beetles are often associated with carrion even though they don’t feed on the corpse itself.

Food

Predaceous rove beetles, depending on the species, may consume root maggot eggs and larvae, mites, small soil insects such as springtails, insect eggs, or small insects on foliage. Some feed on the eggs and maggots of filth flies. Several occur in agricultural soils where they probably feed on a variety of types of prey. A few species can be found in vegetation where they feed on many types of small insects and mites.