This was the last thing I expected to see as I walked along the coast in East Yorkshire, Metoecus paradoxus. I had just moved from exposed cliff top into a more sheltered woody ravine when this beetle flew into me.
I initially thought it was a longhorn as it flew, it looked quite similar to Pseudovadonia livida in flight but as soon as I got a closer look it was obviously a wasp-nest beetle.
This species is widespread but not commonly encountered. It parasitises several species of social wasp and the adults are relatively short lived. They most often turn up in houses that have wasps nesting in the roof spaces and the beetles appear on emergence and get stuck inside.
A nice beetle to catch up with. And a new family to boot.
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