About Metacantharis clypeata (Illiger, 1798)
This species, Metacantharis clypeata, has a body length ranging from 6.5 to 10 millimetres, or 0.26 to 0.39 inches. Its elytra are pale yellowish or pale brownish, with a dark suture and sparse, short, semi-erect pubescence. The portion of the head in front of the eyes is black. The pronotum is primarily yellow, with two often merged black spots located on its rear half. The scutellum is black. These soldier beetles are active from April to July, and are most commonly found on pines and oaks. Metacantharis clypeata inhabits lowland and upland areas up to an altitude of approximately 1900 metres above sea level. It is a xerophilous species, and it may be a relic of the cold and dry climate of the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. This species is distributed across Albania, Great Britain, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, the eastern Palaearctic realm, and North Africa.
