Collections search

The Biscuit beetle, Stegobium paniceum, is a common household and storage pest. It was given the Latin name paniceum (from the word panis ) because it feeds on bread – but it consumes practically ...

The Common earwig, Forficula auricularia , is easily recognisable by the fearsome-looking cerci or forceps at the end of the abdomen: these are curved in the male, but straight in the female insect ...

Mainly encountered on the chalk downlands of southern England, the beetle Drilus flaverscens is a prime example of sexual dimorphism, with the appearance and lifestyle of the males and females being ...

It is sometimes said that an average person can recognise a bee from a wasp, and either one from a fly. They fail to realize that some insects thought to be wasps are actually bees, and others are ...

Scarabs were greatly revered by the ancient Egyptians because of their behaviour of rolling a ball of dung along the ground (to bury and eventually eat or use for nesting), and this was considered ...

The Devil’s Coach Horse, Ocypus olens , is a rove beetle, and is a member of the Staphylinidae - one of the oldest families of beetles originating from the late Triassic period dating around 200 ...