About Trichodes leucopsideus (Olivier, 1800)
Trichodes leucopsideus is a small to medium-sized hairy beetle. Its head and scutellum are shining blue or black. Its elongated elytra are bright reddish orange with black bands, and can be distinguished from elytra of other Trichodes species by the two small black spots located on the front of the elytra.
This species is distributed across France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, and North Africa.
At the larval stage, Trichodes leucopsideus acts as a parasite of bees. Females lay their eggs in the nests of wild bees or in honey bee hives; after hatching, the larvae feed on the larvae and nymphs of their host bees.
Adult beetles reach a length of 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in). They can be found from May through July, mostly on Apiaceae flowers. Adults primarily feed on pollen, but will also hunt and eat small insects to supplement their diet.
