Byrrhidae
is a small family of beetles, of which there are just ten
UK species. The family are more colloquially known as
Pill Beetles of which Byrrhus fasciatus is just
one and probably the least common of those three species regularly found
in Nottinghamshire. The name Pill Beetle stems from their ability to
retract all appendages into grooves underneath the body,
simulating death in this manner. They live among grasses
and mosses and are very slow moving.
Very similar to Byrrhus
pilula, but Byrrhus fasciatus measures slightly
smaller and has two broken lines across the elytra, although these can
be very hard to see on some specimens. |
