A couple of end of year extras

The new beetles keep on coming, or at least the identifications do. These two were collected from the garden at the start of the year from leaf litter

First up, one from the nightmarish genus Meligethes. This genus contains what must probably be the most numerous of UK beetles, M. aeneus. This obviously wasn't one of those due to the shape and colour but there are still another 37 of the blighters to choose from!

The key in the new Duff volume is a slight improvement on the others I've used but getting to subgenus is easier with comparative material, and I've only seen a small number of these species...

This one was a male and the aedeagus looked (and in fact is) incredibly distinctive. Along with the paler legs and a body with a 'leaden lustre' this one is Meligethes nigrescens. 

It's a feeder of white clover and apparently is incredibly widespread across most of the UK. Still, not one I'd encountered before. 

The second new species was this small 2.8mm histerid. Getting these to genus is often a struggle and I prefer eyeballing images to get me close. This one I needed some help with but once told it's rather obvious. Carcinops pumilio.

This is an introduced species that has probably been introduced globally through the poultry industry and is fairly ubiquitous on chicken farms. It also can be found in dung and rotting vegetation. The slightly elongated shape and paler appendages give this one away. It's the only one I've seen so far so not that common in the garden as I regularly sieve the various piles of decaying detritus for beetles...