Cantharis rustica

Cantharis rustica (Fallén, 1807)
Cantharis rustica is just one of several similarly coloured beetles that belong to the Cantharidae group, more commonly known as Soldier Beetles. There are about 40 UK species and they are frequent visitors to thistles and umbelliferous flowers, where they probably prey on other flower-feeding insects. The one in the upper two photographs was doing just that, when found eating a Phyllobius weevil at Sherwood Forest CP in May 2011.
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The records for the Nottinghamshire distribution map are currently provided by the following contributors - Richard Rogers. Trevor and Dilys Pendleton. Allan and Annette Binding. Netherfield Wildlife Group. Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. Pauline Bradford. Tim Sexton. Darren Matthews. K N A Alexander (Invertebrate assemblage condition at Birklands and Bilhaugh SSSI and Birklands West and Ollerton Corner SSSI survey reports 2009-10). Natural England - Invertebrate Site Register 2006. Stuart Warrington. The National Trust (Clumber Park invertebrate records). Allan and Annette Binding (Clumber Park invertebrate records). Peter Kirby (Bentinck Tip & Void Invertebrate survey 2007). Wil Heeney. David Shaw. Brian Wetton.

You can contribute your own records to help us gain an accurate status of this species in Nottinghamshire. Send an Excel spreadsheet of your records via the 'contact us' link at the top of the homepage.

Updated January 2024


Nottinghamshire (VC56) distribution of Cantharis rustica