- Types from A - D
- Types of E - F
- Species with G
- Types of H - K
- Types of L - M
- Types of N - R
- Species with S
- Types of T - Z
- frequently asked Questions
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Around 7,000 different species of beetles live in Germany, some of which differ greatly in their appearance and lifestyle. In this article we will introduce you to some of the native beetles.
In a nutshell
- numerous species of different sizes and colors
- many predatory species
- some also eat flower parts, pollen or tree sap
- others live on or in the water
- Larvae often as grubs in the ground
Types from A - D
Bark Schroeder (Dorcus parallelipipedus)
Source: Jacek Proszyk, Ciołek matowy, Edited by Plantopedia, CC0 1.0
- Length: 20 to 32 millimeters
- Appearance: matt black coloration, wrinkled elytra, head and pronotum finely dotted, males with strong upper jaws
- Way of life: feeds mainly on escaping tree saps
- Larva: develops within 2 to 3 years in rotten or dead wood
Bee Beetle (Trichodes apiarius)
- Length: 9 to 15 millimeters
- Appearance: Wing coverts bright red with three black transverse bands, the rear touching the end of the wing, conspicuous hairs
- Lifestyle: predominantly predatory
- Larva: Predatory, lives in bee nests and eats their larvae and pupae
The beautifully drawn bee beetle belongs to the beetle family and is also known as the beetle or immen wolf.
Notice: The very similar Shaggy Bee Beetle (Trichodes alvearius) is a little less common, but the third black transverse band does not touch the end of the wing.
Book printer (Ips typographus)
Source: Gilles San Martin, Ips typographus (female), edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Length: 4 to 5 millimeters
- Appearance: Reddish-brown with distinct, protruding hairs, small teeth at the rear end
- Habitat: in spruce wood, characteristic feeding passages, feared forest pest
- Larva: in spruce, maggot-like, legless, only a few days to complete development
Nettle leaf weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus)
- Length: 6 to 8 millimeters
- Appearance: Entire body covered with greenish shiny scaly hairs, short trunk
- Lifestyle: often on stinging nettles
- Larva: terrestrial, feeds on plant roots
Types of E - F
Oak Leaf Roller (Attelabus nitens)
Source: NobbiP, Oak leaf roller Attelabus nitens on nettle 9497, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Length: 4 to 7 millimeters
- Appearance: brown, head and legs black, antennae reddish at the base
- Lifestyle: feeds on oak leaves
- Larva: develops in curled oak leaves
Alder leaf beetle (Agelastica alni)
- Length: 6 to 7 millimeters
- Appearance: blue-black, blue-violet, dark blue or greenish in color, females have a thick abdomen filled with eggs
- Lifestyle: feed on alder leaves
- Larva: black, lives in groups on alder leaves
Field tiger beetle (Cicindela campestris)
Source: Andreas Eichler, 2022.03.25.-04-Kaefertaler Wald-Mannheim-Feld-Sandlaufkaefer, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Length: 10 to 16 millimeters
- Appearance: Metallic green coloration with punctiform spots, large protruding eyes, long and pointed upper jaw
- Lifestyle: predatory
- Larva: Lives predatory, lives in self-dug, vertical burrows
The species is mainly active in strong sunlight in gravel pits, on sandy beaches, dry slopes, on paths, fields and in heath areas.
Species with G
Garden leaf beetle (Phyllopertha horticola)
AfroBrazilian, Phyllopertha horticola 06, crop from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Length: 8 to 12 millimeters
- Appearance: Head and pronotum shiny green, elytra reddish brown, whole body densely hairy
- Lifestyle: eats leaves and flowers
- Larva: lives as a grub in the ground and is considered a pest
Dytiscus beetle (Dytiscus marginalis)
The yellow smut beetle (Dysticus marginalis) is the most common representative of its genus in Central Europe.
- Length: 27 to 35 millimeters
- Appearance Males: elytra glossy dark green and smooth, pronotum and elytra with conspicuous yellow fringes
- Appearance females: greenish brown with deep longitudinal furrows
- Lifestyle: predatory, lives in water
- Larvae: about five to seven millimeters long, predatory
The pretty yellow-spotted beetle is a common resident beetle found in both still and slow-moving water bodies.
Common shoveled runner (Cychrus caraboides)
Source: AJC1 from UK, The Snail Hunter (25671963043), Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Length: 12 to 20 millimeters
- Appearance: shiny black, slightly wrinkled elytra, long, remarkably narrow head with long stretched out mouthparts
- Lifestyle: predatory, crepuscular and nocturnal
- Larva: lives predatory, isopod-like appearance
Both the larva and the adult beetle eat mainly slugs and snails, which is why the species is a welcome beneficial in both agriculture and gardens.
Notice: The narrow shoveled runner (Cychrus attenuatus) offers a risk of confusion, but can be distinguished by its slight bronze shimmer in the colouring.
Glowworm (Lamprohiza splendidula)
Source: Kryp, Lamprohiza-splendidula-13-fws, edited from Plantopedia, CC0 1.0
- Length: 8 to 10 millimeters
- Appearance Males: dark brown coloration, head hidden under pronotum, finely wrinkled elytra
- Appearance females: larvae-like, unable to fly, light colouring
- Larva: isopod-like, feeds mainly on snails
Between June and July, the male fireflies fly through the twilight as tiny will-o'-the-wisps to find the females, who are often sitting in the grass. Egg and larva also produce a faint glow.
Gold ground beetle (Carabus auratus)
Source: gbohne from Berlin, Germany, The Golden ground beetle eating a slug on a countryside road (5116458380), edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Length: 17 to 30 millimeters
- Appearance: Glossy golden green top, reddish legs and antennal segments
- Lifestyle: predatory
The species, also known as gold hen or goldsmith, is a very common native beetle that hunts herbivorous insects and their larvae and is therefore classified as a beneficial insect.
Notice: The golden ground beetle (Carabus auronitens) looks very similar, but is colored a little darker. In addition, the elytra ribs are black in this species instead of gold-green as in the ground beetle.
Types of H - K
Hazelnut borer (Curculio nucum)
Source: Jerzy Strzelecki, Curculio nucum 01(js) Lodz(Poland), edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Length: 6 to 9 millimeters
- Appearance: Entire body scaled black, white and gray, almost body-length, curved proboscis, antennae on proboscis knuckled
- Habitat: native beetle common in forests and parks
- Larva: develops in hazelnuts and eats the kernel
Stag beetle (Lucanus cervus)
- Length: 30 to 75 millimeters
- Appearance Males: powerful, antler-like pincers on the head, black head and pronotum, brown elytra
- Appearance Females: solid black, only has short pincers
- Lifestyle: adult beetles lick up tree sap
- Larva: Development time 5 to 8 years, in rotten oak wood
Largest native beetle, which is also dependent on the presence of old oak trees. The critically endangered species is under strict protection.
June beetle (also ribbed curlew beetle, Amphimallon solstitiale)
- Length: 14 to 18 millimeters
- Appearance: Light brown, slightly translucent elytra, densely hairy, 3-part antennal fan
- Lifestyle: feeds on leaves and flowers
- Larva: 4 to 5 centimeters long, as a grub in the ground
Butt water beetle (Hydrophilus piceus)
Great water strider - Hydrophilus piceus Source: Darkone, Great water strider Hydrous piceus 1, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 (beetle), Herbert Henderkes, Hydrous piceus larva by H. Henderkes, Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 (larva )
- Length: 30 to 43 millimeters
- Appearance: glossy black
- Lifestyle: eats fresh leaves and algae, able to fly
- Larvae: up to seven centimeters long, primarily eat snails
This water beetle usually lives hidden between aquatic plants and only comes to the water surface to breathe. He then carries his air reserve with him as a shiny air bubble on his stomach. If you catch him, he bites painfully.
Notice: A native beetle, but critically endangered and therefore strictly protected. Removal from the garden pond (or anywhere else) is not permitted!
Types of L - M
Leather ground beetle (Carabus coriaceus)
Source: Katya from Moscow, Russia, Жужелица шагреневая (Жужелица черная)- Carabus coriaceus - Черен бегач - Leather Ground Beetle (22702957014), Edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Length: 30 to 41 millimeters
- Appearance: black, elytra wrinkled like leather, large maxillary pincers
- Way of life: predatory, also the larva
- Larva: pupates in the ground, hatches as a mature beetle from May
The largest ground beetle species in Central Europe cannot fly and is mainly nocturnal. When threatened, the species sprays corrosive butyric acid up to a meter away.
Cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha)
- Length: 20 to 30 millimeters
- Appearance: Shiny, brown elytra, black pronotum, pointed abdomen, whitish, triangular spots on the sides of the abdomen
- Habitat: feeds on deciduous leaves, especially oaks
- Larva: approx. 5 to 6 millimeters long, lives as grubs in the root area of plants
Matt pillworm (Sisyphus schaefferi)
Source: Fritz Geller-Grimm, Steinau fg23, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Length: 8 to 12 millimeters
- Appearance: Dark brown to black, heavily arched body that tapers backwards, long, curved hind legs, front legs designed as digging legs
- Lifestyle: makes dung balls from animal excrement and buries them in the ground
- Larva: develop on buried balls of feces
Notice: Native beetle, but it is critically endangered and therefore under strict protection.
Meal Beetle (Tenebrio molitor)
Tenebrio molitor. Source: Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark, Tenebrio molitor (42203443085), crop from Plantopedia, CC BY 2.0
- Length: 12 to 18 millimeters
- Appearance: shiny chestnut brown to black, longitudinal grooves on the elytra, pronotum finely dotted
- Lifestyle: inhabits human environment, prefers dark and warm places
- Larva: up to 4 centimeters long, worm-like appearance, feared storage pest
Types of N - R
Rhinoceros Beetle (Oryctes nasicornis)
- Length: 25 to 40 millimeters
- Appearance: Dark brown, males have a long, curved head horn
- Way of life: lives in decaying organic material (e.g. compost heaps)
- Larva: with a length of up to 12 centimetres, the largest beetle larva in Europe, development time 3 to 5 years
A native beetle, which has meanwhile become very rare and is therefore under strict protection.
Oil beetle (Meloidae spec.)
- Length: 10 to 35 millimeters
- Appearance: blackish-blue, shiny coloration, very swollen abdomen, short, gaping elytra
- Lifestyle: feeds on parts of plants, unable to fly
- Larva: lives in soil bee nests and eats bee eggs
This is also a frequently encountered native beetle, which is mainly to be found in heat-favorable biotopes such as dry grassland, forest edges and on sandy soils.
Rose chafer (Cetonia aurata)
common rose chafer, Cetonia aurata
- Length: 14 to 20 millimeters
- Appearance: shiny green, brown or bronze metal with white spots, antennae club-shaped thickened
- Lifestyle: feeds on parts of flowers and pollen
- Larva: feeds mainly on wood debris, often found in compost
The sun-loving rose chafer flies in particular to the blossoms of roses, fruit trees, elder and umbelliferous plants, making a loud buzzing sound in flight.
Red and Yellow Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)
Rhagonycha fulva
- Length: 7 to 10 millimeters
- Appearance: Head, pronotum and elytra brownish red, tips of the elytra blackish, long, thin antennae
- Lifestyle: primarily predatory
- Larva: velvety brown in colour, eats snails and worms
This pretty beetle is considered extremely useful because it devours large quantities of plant-damaging insects.
Species with S
Scarlet fire beetle (Pyrochroa coccinea)
- Length: 14 to 18 millimeters
- Appearance: Pronotum and elytra bright red, velvety hairy, head, antennae and legs black
- Lifestyle: lives on plant sap and honeydew from aphids
- Larva: yellowish brown, slightly flattened, under loose bark and in rotten wood
Notice: Since the larvae also eat bark beetle larvae, they are considered beneficial in forestry.
Black mold beetle (Ocypus olens)
Source: Daniel Ullrich, Threedots, Ocypus spec, edited from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Length: 20 to 32 millimeters
- Appearance: black, very short elytra, elongated body, large head, short antennae
- Lifestyle: predatory
Widespread native beetle that assumes a typical defensive posture when threatened: the abdomen is bent forward and the mandibles spread to bite. In addition, the animal can secrete a foul-smelling secretion.
Black-horned Gravedigger (Nicrophorus vespilloides)
- Length: 10 to 18 millimeters
- Appearance: black coloration with 2 orange-red transverse bands on the elytra
- Way of Life: Scavengers, "Forest Health Police"
The gravedigger, which is widespread throughout Europe, does not bear its name without reason: dead animals in the forest (e.g. mice) are practically buried in the ground by these beetles. The buried animal carcass in turn serves as food for the beetle offspring.
Soldier Beetle (Cantharis fusca)
Soldier beetles mating
- Length: 11 to 15 millimeters
- Appearance: Dark elytra covered with velvety hairs, red pronotum with black spot, reddish abdomen
- Lifestyle: primarily predatory
- Larvae: about two centimeters long, colored velvety black
Another common domestic beetle is the soldier beetle, which belongs to the soft beetle family. The soldier beetle can usually be seen sitting on flowers or leaves when the sun is shining, where it eats aphids and other small insects. The predominantly diurnal larvae are also very popular with gardeners because they eat snails.
Types of T - Z
Worm beetle (Gyrinidae)
- Length: 5 to 7 millimeters
- Appearance: shiny black, regular rows of dots on the elytra
- Lifestyle: predatory
- Larvae: about 15 millimeters long, live in the bottom of the water
The formation of swarms, which is particularly easy to observe on sunny days, is typical of the approximately 20 different European tumble beetle species. Then the beetles make flocks of fast circles on the water surface, which also gave them their species name.
Forest Dung Beetle (Anoplotrupes stercorosus)
Source: Georg Wiora; Edit by Waugsberg (colors, sharpening), Bug moving dead snail with fly 1a, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Length: 12 to 19 millimeters
- Appearance: greenish to bluish, shiny metallic, strong legs with thorns and barbs
- Lifestyle: eats animal excrement
- Larvae: in 30 to 40 cm deep burrows filled with faeces, feed on the faeces
Petite jewel beetle (Anthaxia nitidula)
Source: By ©entomartIn case of publication or commercial use, Entomart wishes then to be warned (http://www.entomart.be/contact.html), but this without obligation. Thank you. Attribution Link
- Length: 5 to 7 millimeters
- Appearance males: solid green, shiny metallic
- Appearance Females: like males, only with a copper-red head and pronotum
- Lifestyle: eats pollen and flower petals
- Larva: develops under the bark of fruit trees
This and other jewel beetles are mainly found on sunny forest edges, in bushes and orchards.
frequently asked Questions
Why does the stag beetle have such large pincers on its head?The characteristic antler pincers are only worn by male stag beetles, which - just like the real deer - fight against each other for the much more inconspicuous females.
Which beetles have extremely long antennae?So-called long-horned beetles, which include the large oak beetle, musk beetle, alpine beetle, red-necked beetle or ram beetle, are characterized by a very narrow physique and long, in some species even significantly longer, antennae.
Do the beetle larvae in the compost belong to a type of pest?If you find thick, white grubs in the compost, be happy: These are by no means pests. Instead, the larvae ensure that the compost rots better and are therefore very useful. Do not leave the larvae in the light for too long, as they do not tolerate UV radiation and die quickly.