A soft-bodied beetle in soldier colours
Black with orange markings on the head and thorax, this beetle looked like a small soldier in uniform. Its body was soft, nothing like the armour of most beetles, and it moved deliberately through the vegetation, hunting.
This is a member of the genus Cantharis, in the family Cantharidae, the soldier beetles. The English name comes from their bright, often red-orange and black colouration, which reminded early naturalists of military uniforms. The family is placed in the order Coleoptera.
Soldier beetles have soft, flexible elytra (wing covers) unlike the hard shells of most beetles. Adults are common on flowers and foliage, where they feed on small insects such as aphids and also take pollen and nectar. They are considered beneficial insects in gardens for this reason. The larvae live in leaf litter and soil and are also predatory.
This individual could not be identified to species from the photograph alone, so it is recorded here at genus level. The genus Cantharis is widespread across the northern hemisphere, with many similar species that are best separated by subtle details of colour pattern and genitalia.
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