| There are
over 1000 species of Rove Beetle (Staphylinidae)
in the UK, making them one of the most
difficult families to identify to species level. This
means that they are often left well alone by
Coleopterists, but occasionally, there are species which
can be readily identified quite easily. When used to Rove
Beetles, Ocypus ophthalmicus is one such species
and identifiable through its large size and distinctly
turquoise coloured elytra, with the head and pronotum
being slightly duller. The one photographed was found
crawling up the wall of a day centre in Mansfield in June
2016 and looks to be the first county record since one at
Sherwood Forest in 1912. |
