Red-headed cardinal beetle, Pyrochroa serraticornis, turned up in my garden within a week of seeing its cousin out in Ashdown Forest. I confess to never having knowingly noticed either of these beetles before. It just goes to show how much more attention one pays to life wild around us when one is writing a daily blog about such things!
It turns out that there are only three species in the cardinal beetle family, two in the Pyrochroa genus with the third being the Scarce cardinal beetle, Schizotus pectinicornis. It may suprise you to learn that the latter isn't as widespread as the other two. If I come across one, I shall be sure to post it here at the first opportunity.
All of them are saproxylic, meaning they feed on dead wood.
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