I think this is one for Dave.. Red striped oil beetle

[SueMac]

Please can you tell me what this is.......
SueMac

[Clive]

Hola SueMac,

Dave? who's he? Just cos he got that oak hawkmoth (still not convinced)

Anyway, What you have there is a red striped oil beetle Meloe majalis

Theses guys are great and we find them a lot under oak trees in sandy soil at this time of year.

Clive

[Dave]

Hi SueMac,
Seen as though I was wrong on the Silkworm moth, beaten on the Oil beetle, I am now retiring from identification, at least until the next one

Clive
The red striped Oil beetle, is it one of the rove beetles ? the shape is correct, but one in that colour, was not in my book, mind you it did say there were over 10,000 different types, and only illustrated half a dozen.
Regards
Dave

[SueMac]

Hola - que "rove beetle"?
SueMac

[Dave]

Hi SueMac
A rove beetle is just one of many subspecies of beetle, they are able to fly but the wingcovers do not cover the whole body as in a ladybird
Regards
Dave

[Sue]

I finally got around to pulling some information together for this species the Red-striped Oil Beetle Meloe majalis

[andyj]

Hi all,
Just to clear up the sub-species thing that was mentioned earlier in the thread.
oil beetles (genus: meloidae) do look at bit like rove beetle (genus: staphylinidae) but are a differernt GENUS of the ORDER Coleoptera. Just to calrify, they arent sub-species of a beetle they are a whole genus in their own right and the red striped oil beetle of the oil beetle genus. Clear as mud??
Im guessing dave got confussed with the whole order/genus/species thing?....easily done

Andy

[Dave]

Hi Andy
Confusion, its all part of my day, as I approach my sixties. Enter room, wonder why I am here, leave room, remember, enter room etc. etc.
Regards
Dave