#Rhagonycha fulva

[unkn0wnvariable]

Red Soldier Beetle

A red soldier beetle feeding on an ox-eye daisy flower, at Grafham Water.

[bitsandbirds]

Nyoom!

Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva), Ireland

[brilag]

Lepture et "Rhagonycha fulva" sur achillée millefeuille par brigitte lagravaire Via Flickr : 2016-07-05-Madaillan (13)

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Common Red Soldier Beetle - Rhagonycha fulva

Just like a few years ago, a small section of partial wilderness in my neighborhood continues to play host to many mating pairs of Common Red Solider Beetle. When otherwise unoccupied, these diligent insects will crawl along and fly among the many flowers and buds here (including thistle buds). While some individuals are keen to hang around, dozens of individuals in this area were on patrol for soft-bodied insects to eat, such as small Caterpillars and Aphids. That in mind, the Plagiognathus Plant Bug specie seen in Pictures 1, 4 and 7 shouldn't let its guard down completely. This is of course, adult behavior, as the larvae of this Soldier Beetle feed on other plant-visiting animals such as hungry mollusks. As they visit flowers, it's worth mentioning that the diet of the adults also includes nectar and pollen, hence them diving headfirst into some of these flowers. Based on these pictures, I'm mindful of a point I brought in the previous point, where I wondered how/if these insects could serve as pollinating insects. Research supports that these Beetles play a role in pollination of certain flowers, but I wonder how that role varies across different types of flowers.

Flowers come in all shapes, sizes and configurations, and all area designed to work with some range of pollinators. So how might our Common Red friends here potentially pollinate the more open faced flowers and tipped thistle flowers in these images? The Beetle's bodies don't appear as suited for the adherence and transfer of pollen (compared to other pollinators), but they don't make direct contact with the flower's face. With how the insect travels, pollen may be transferred if some bits are caught on the Beetle's feet or from their mandibles as they go in for a nectar reward. Honestly, I think I'll need to revisit these Beetles next year when they return during the summer months. When I do, I'll observe them more carefully and see where pollen collects along their body and see how it makes contact with another flower. Regretfully, while they were many to behold when I photographed them, there were far less 2 weeks later, as their adult lives aren't long. Do not misunderstand however, these Beetles can be seen as adults all summer long, so some individuals may be airborne for a month or so, and securing mates when possible. And as it was before, the females continue to be distinctly larger than the males.

Pictures were taken on July 1, 2024 with a Google Pixel 4.

[wild-e-eep]

A common red soldier beetle - Rhagonycha fulva - enjoying some marsh thistle.

[bugtheories]

Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) and his face

Levenhuk 720B x Nikon D5600 × AF-P DX 18–55 VR

[firebugseverywhere]

Do you happen to know what species of bug this little guy is?

I don't think I've seen it before. If it helps, I saw it flying around.

That looks like a soldier beetle, possibly Rhagonycha fulva or Cantharis livida!

R. fulva is quite common in Europe and parts of Canada, but if that isn't where you've seen this guy it's probably C. livida. :-D

I'm having super great fun identifying bugs, so if you ever have another one for me, ask ahead! :-)

[bonefall]

is there a word for beetle in clanmew ? realizing that uhh. my man beetlestalk cant introduce himself atm LAWL /silly

There's a few and it depends on the sort of beetle! See, there's three general 'classes' of beetle, which they would have words for.

ROUND, STINKY Beetle = "Owssub"

We're talking ladybugs (Coccinella septempunctata), bloodnoses (Timarcha tenebricosa), and some insects that Clan cats would class as beetles like shieldbugs. All fat, oval or circular bugs are in this category.

Not all of them actively spray attackers, but it's enough of a problem that all Owssub are treated with caution. It's thought all of them can, but some of them are just docile.

THIN, LONG beetle = "Lebub"

Red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva), all types of longhorn beetle, musk beetles (Aromia moschata), click beetles, etc.

Most of these are safe to eat and relatively harmless, though musk beetles can be stinky. So this would be the softer, cuter term.

BITE Beetle = "Gnombub"

Rove beetles, tiger beetles, and earwigs (Forficula auricularia) though they aren't proper beetles.

All members of this species are seen as formidable hunters and honorable foes, bravely standing against cats many times their size. They're adored and respected as animals by Clan cats.

The Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela campestris), and the Devil's Coachhorse (Ocypus olens) have unique names of their own-- Holrokach and Uboraor. Green-Claw and Black-Tiger. It's related to the basis of the TigerClan myths. This, plus the legend's association with tabby patterns caused the translator to make "gaor" into "tiger" to match leopards and lions.

Below the spoiler is a real beetle with a big butt. Booty Beetle, if you will.

[Id: A green beetle with thick butt cheeks. Oedemera nobilis]

[unkn0wnvariable]

Feeding Soldier Beetle

A common red soldier beetle feeding on fennel flowers, in Twywell Gullet.

[myheadisalabyrinth]

Long hoverfly(Sphaerophoria scripta), Red soldier beetle(Rhagonycha fulva) and Yellow-Masked bees(Hylaeus) eating nectar from our onions

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

"JULY 12. High summer and one can hear the universe; so overwhelming is the accumulated sound of growing in the meadow and in hedges, of pollen being released, of particles moving in heat, that all the minute motions together create a continuous hum: the sound of summer.

Meanwhile the swifts tear the fabric of the sky on scything wings. The yarrow flowers are tall, the hawthorn flowers have turned to hard green haws. Blackfly fasten on thistles, so too slender marmalade soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) mating, tail to tail."

~ John Lewis-Stemple, Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field

[lunelfy]

Rhagonycha Fulva ;

Common red soldier beetle ♥

[heather-rajendran]

Common red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) photos I took on Thursday, West Yorkshire, UK

[pogomcl]

Common Red Soldier Beetle, Rhagonycha fulva Canon 7D EFS 60 2.8 f/4 1/320 iso 200 Srbsko, Czech Republic 7/11/2019

[entomoblog]

De la pollinisation à la formation des graines : le cas du châtaignier - Archive ouverte HAL

See on Scoop.it - EntomoNews

... En empêchant les insectes d’accéder aux fleurs femelles à l’aide de filets anti-insectes, la production de fruits s’effondre, prouvant ainsi que la pollinisation des châtaigniers est assurée par les insectes et non par le vent.

  Clément Larue, 2021

Biodiversité, Gènes & Communautés

  "Les coléoptères et les diptères sont les principaux insectes pollinisateurs, à la différence des abeilles, qui ne visitent pas les fleurs femelles.

  Certains châtaigniers sont mâle-stériles, c’est-à-dire qu’ils ne produisent plus de pollen. Cette stérilité mâle est d’origine cytoplasmique et existe à l’état naturel chez le châtaignier européen, qui est donc une espèce gynodioïque. Les arbres mâle-stériles produisent nettement plus de fruits que les arbres mâle-fertiles.

  Une expérience d’émasculation a mis en évidence le fort impact négatif de l’autopollinisation sur le succès de la pollinisation, suggérant que l’un des principaux mécanismes à l’origine de l’avantage des femelles et du maintien de la gynodioécie chez le châtaignier est l’auto-interférence entre les fonctions maternelles et paternelles aboutissant au gaspillage d’ovules chez les individus bisexués.

  Ce mécanisme a été confirmé par modélisation : les recherches de paternité et les mesures du succès de la pollinisation sont bien expliquées par un mécanisme d’auto-incompatibilité tardif provoquant l’avortement des graines auto-pollinisées.

  Le modèle a aussi permis de mettre en évidence des barrières spécifiques variables et asymétriques entre les différentes espèces de châtaigniers étudiées qui expliquent bien les résultats obtenus en vergers de production."

(...)

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NDÉ

L'étude

  Revisiting pollination mode in chestnut (Castanea spp.): an integrated approach - Botany Letters, 02.02.2021 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23818107.2021.1872041

  In total, we observed 66 insects on female flowers (Figures 10 and 11). This represents a small fraction (1.8%) of the insects observed on flowering trees. They were typically observed landing on or taking-off from the styles (Figure 10(d,e)), walking on the tip of the styles (Figure 11(a,d,e)), or apparently licking the tip of the styles (Figure 11(b,c)). In other cases, the contact with the female flower seemed purely accidental (Figure 11f). We found 51 beetles on female flowers (42 red soldier beetles, 6 ladybirds, 2 sulphur beetles, C. sulphureus, and 1 tawny longhorn beetle, Paracorymbia fulva), representing 77% of the total, a higher proportion than on trees (52%, see Figure 12). We also found 11 flies and 4 Hymenoptera on female flowers, including 2 ants and 2 bees, one of which was a honeybee.

  [Image] Figure 11. Insects visiting female flowers. a) Soldier red beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) standing on the extremities of the styles of a female inflorescence. b) Sulphur beetle (Cteniopus sulphureus) licking the stigmatic portion of a style. c) Idem for a swollen-thighed beetle (Oedomera sp.). d) Adult ladybird walking on a female flower. e) Fly perched on a female flower. f) Pollen-collecting honeybee (Apis mellifera) accidentally touching a female flower

[lindamarieansonsnaps]