| Trichodes apiarius (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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Scientific name: Trichodes apiarius (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: French name: Clairon des abeilles, Trichode des abeilles Order: Coleoptera Family: Cleridae Wingspan : 9 to 16 mm. Biotope: Flower meadows, road sides, woodland edges. Geographic area: Europe missing in extreme northern regions, North Africa, Asia Minor. Observation period : May to August. |
Trichodes apiarius is a small hairy coleoptera with black or dark metallic blue head and scutellum. The lengthy elytra are bright orange red with black bands. You can tell the common and similar species, Trichodes alvearius, apart with the last black band not reaching the apex of the elytra while this is the case on Trichodes apiarius. Trichodes alvearius also shows a thin black line between the two elytra. This black line is missing on Trichodes apiarius. Trichodes umbellatarum, only found in the southern regions in France, shows some red colour at the tip of the elytra and no black line between the back three quarter of the elytra. The larvae of Trichodes apiarius grow in the nest of wild solitary or social bees. They feed on larvae and nymphs. They very seldom grow inside beekeepers' hives. They do only when the colonies are very weak. Adult Trichodes apiarius are mainly seen on flowers, especially umbelliferae flowers. They feed on pollen and sometimes on small insects. |
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I have not visited the capital of my natal region so often, that's to say the beautiful city of Dijon. You can see there many works of art dating from the time of the Dukes of Burgundy, but I also made here my first observation of Trichodes apiarius walking through the beautiful gardens of the Arquebuse. |
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You can clearly see the black spot reaching the tip of the elytra on this picture. |
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The black band is reaching the tip of the elytra, so I think that we have Trichodes apiarius here. But it seems that we can see a thin black line at the junction of the elytra which is rather an indication for Trichodes alvearius, strange ... |
André Bon March 2022