Lagria hirta
Common wool beetle ( Lagria hirta )
The common wool beetle ( Lagria hirta, Syn: Lagria pubescens) is a beetle of the family of darkling beetles ( Tenebrionidae ) within the subfamily of wool beetle ( Lagriinae ).
Features
The beetle is 7 to 10 millimeters long. Head and pronotum are black or brown-black, the rather soft wing covers ( elytra ) are yellow-brown or yellow. The antennae and legs are dark brown. In the males the forehead is narrower than in the female. The antennae and legs are dark brown to black. The neck plate is wider than long and the base (that is, the rear edge ) is narrower than the covering wing. He is loose coarse point-like structure. The elytra, which Epipleuren ( laterally under whipped, by an edge stepped portion of the elytra ) are formed on the whole length, are also dotted. The latter are narrower at the level of the fourth sternite, as the rails ( tibiae ) of the hind legs are wide. The species can be confused with Lagria atripes whose Epipleuren are as wide as the rails of the hind legs at the height of the fourth sternite. In addition, the pronotum is slightly wider at Lagria atripes.
Occurrence
The species is widespread in Europe and east to Siberia. To the north it occurs to the south of Norway, central Sweden and northern Finland and is found locally on the British Isles. They inhabited forest edges, both of deciduous as well as coniferous forests, and meadows, streams, hedges, gardens, ruderal, calcareous grasslands and other habitats from lowlands to high mountains. The species is common.
Way of life
The larvae develop in the leaf litter in rotting plant material. They overwinter and pupate until the spring. The adults occur in the summer.