Red Halo

Finally caught up with one of my bogey beetles. i.e. one of those common species I should have seen ages ago but have just never come across.

The beetle in question is Leistus rufomarginatus. This species is a fairly recent arrival in the UK. It was first recorded in 1942, but has since spread northwards and now reaches as far as Scotland. This one appeared as I was clearing up some leaf litter from the garden. It's most distinctive feature is the red rim or halo around its pronotum.

It was also given the English name Red-rimmed Plate-jaw by Mark Telfer and John Walters in their useful guide to this genus.

In the above shot you can see why. Those jaws are just big sharp plates, perfectly adapted for cutting. I come across L. spinbarbis and L. fulvibarbis quite often but still haven't seen ferrugineus or terminatus let alone the mountain top species, montanus. Something else to look forward to I guess...

Today's title inspiration comes from Emily barker and the Red Clay Halo