Appearance
It is a hairy, small beetle with shining blue or black head and scutellum. The elongated elytra show a bright red colour with black bands. This species can easily be distinguished from "Trichodes alvearius" for the black terminal band reaching the apex of elytra.The adults grow up to 9–16 millimetres and can be encountered from May through June on the flowers, mainly Apiaceae, feeding on the pollen. However, they integrate their diet with small insects that they actively hunt.
Behavior
At the larval stage, these beetles are parasites of bees, as the adults lay the eggs in the nests of solitary bees or in hives of honey bees, eating larvae and nymphs of their victims.References:
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