About Trichodes apiarius (Linnaeus, 1758)
Trichodes apiarius is a checkered beetle species that belongs to the subfamily Clerinae of the family Cleridae. It occurs across most of Europe, the eastern Palearctic realm, and North Africa. Adults are small, hairy beetles with shiny blue or black heads and scutellums. Their elongated wing cases (called elytra) are bright red and marked with black bands. This species is easily distinguished from Trichodes alvearius because its black terminal elytral band extends all the way to the tip of the elytra. Adult Trichodes apiarius reach 9 to 16 millimetres (0.35 to 0.63 inches) in length. They can be found on flowers (mainly Apiaceae) from May through June, where they feed on pollen and actively hunt small insects. The larvae of this species are parasites of bees, which explains its scientific species name "apiarius". Adult females lay their eggs in the nests of solitary bees from the Osmia and Megachile genera, or in honey bee hives, and the larvae feed on the host bee larvae and nymphs.
