Common Red Soldier Beetle / Šoštar

Description:

It body size is up to a cm. Nearly all their body is coloured red yellowish. Only the last bit of the elytra is black. The body is flat and elongated. The chitin armor is very soft, resulting in the German name of this species as Weichkäfer (meaning "soft beetle"), Croatian: mekokošci. The black thread-like antennae are also relatively long. The equally long legs have an orange color, which become notably darker only at the end. These beetles are active during the daylight hours, when they will hunt mostly for small insects on top of flowers.

Habitat:

This beetle is very common in Europe and Anatolia. Introduced to North America, it is well-established in British Columbia and Quebec and recently recorded in Ontario. One will find it very often in bushes or on grass and fields.