The Bloody-nosed Beetle Timarcha tenebricosa in North Yorkshire: distribution and estimates of population size

摘要

Leaf-beetles in the genus Timarcha (Chrysomelidae) comprise some 100 species and approximately 50 subspecies and show a curious world distribution, occurring around the Mediterranean and in north-western North America (Jolivet, Poinar & Verma, 2014).In the British Isles there are just two species, the Bloody-nosed Beetle Timarcha tenebricosa (Fabricius, 1775) and the Small Bloody-nosed Beetle T. goettingensis (Linnaeus, 1758), both with largely southern distributions. The common names refer to the beetles' ability to exude bright red, distasteful haemolymph from the mouth if roughly handled.