There are a few beetle groups that have me scratching my head. The genus Cercyon for instance. Apart from C. analis which is rather elongate, the majority that I come across are carded and put away for a rainy day and a time when I can compare to some known specimens, preferably in a museum. That's not going to happen soon is it?
This one came to light this summer. At 2mm it's fairly typical and I just go round the houses with key trying to convince myself that I'm taking the right path through the couplets. The added problem with this genus is that some of the key characteristics are underneath, so how best to keep them?
Cue clumsy segue into a beetle I can actually identify. This time one of the Byturidae. This family has only two UK species. So far I've only ever come across Byturus tomentosus aka the Raspberry Beetle, a notorious pest of gardener's raspberries and other cane fruit.
Looking at a sample this evening I found the other species in the genus, Byturus ochraceus. It's a bit bigger with larger eyes and slightly more hefty looking pronotum.
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| Which is which? |
There's some good comparison pics and info on the old Watford Coleoptera Group site here.
Post title inspiration is the only song I know with raspberry in it!
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