The following is a list of soldier beetle (family Cantharidae) species recorded in Great Britain. According to the UK Beetle Recording scheme and the Checklist of Beetles of the British Isles (Duff 2008), there are 41–42 species of Cantharidae recorded in Britain. They are classified into three subfamilies: Cantharinae, Silinae, and Malthininae.
Subfamily Cantharinae
Genus Podabrus
- Podabrus alpinus (Paykull, 1798)
Genus Ancistronycha
- Ancistronycha abdominalis (Fabricius, 1798) – Blue Soldier Beetle
Genus Cantharis
- Cantharis cryptica Ashe, 1947
- Cantharis decipiens Baudi, 1871
- Cantharis figurata Mannerheim, 1843
- Cantharis flavilabris Fallén, 1807
- Cantharis fusca Linnaeus, 1758
- Cantharis lateralis Linnaeus, 1758
- Cantharis livida Linnaeus, 1758
- Cantharis nigra (De Geer, 1774)
- Cantharis nigricans (O. F. Müller, 1776)
- Cantharis obscura Linnaeus, 1758
- Cantharis pallida Goeze, 1777
- Cantharis paludosa Fallén, 1807
- Cantharis pellucida Fabricius, 1792
- Cantharis rufa Linnaeus, 1758
- Cantharis rustica Fallén, 1807
- Cantharis thoracica (Olivier, 1790)
Genus Rhagonycha
- Rhagonycha elongata (Fallén, 1807)
- Rhagonycha fulva (Scopoli, 1763) – Common Red Soldier Beetle
- Rhagonycha lignosa (O. F. Müller, 1764)
- Rhagonycha limbata C. G. Thomson, 1864
- Rhagonycha lutea (O. F. Müller, 1764)
- Rhagonycha nigriventris Motschulsky, 1860
- Rhagonycha testacea (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Rhagonycha translucida (Krynicki, 1832)
Subfamily Silinae
Genus Silis
- Silis ruficollis (Fabricius, 1775)
Subfamily Malthininae
Genus Malthinus
- Malthinus balteatus Suffrian, 1851
- Malthinus flaveolus (Herbst, 1786)
- Malthinus frontalis (Marsham, 1802)
- Malthinus seriepunctatus Kiesenwetter, 1852
Genus Malthodes
- Malthodes crassicornis (Mäklin, 1846)
- Malthodes dispar (Germar, 1824)
- Malthodes fibulatus Kiesenwetter, 1852
- Malthodes flavoguttatus Kiesenwetter, 1852
- Malthodes fuscus (Waltl, 1838)
- Malthodes guttifer Kiesenwetter, 1852
- Malthodes lobatus Kiesenwetter, 1852
- Malthodes marginatus (Latreille, 1806)
- Malthodes maurus (Laporte, 1840)
- Malthodes minimus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Malthodes mysticus Kiesenwetter, 1852
- Malthodes pumilus (Brébisson, 1835)
Notes
- The total number of British Cantharidae species is generally cited as 41 or 42 depending on the source and taxonomic revisions.
- Cantharis flavilabris has in some older British works been referred to as Cantharis nigra, while the species with a red scutellum (here listed as Cantharis nigra) was sometimes called Cantharis thoracica. Nomenclatural corrections by Geiser and Fanti have clarified these names.
- Malthodes lobatus was added to the British list in 2003 based on a single record from White Hawk Down, Sussex (Barclay & Kopetz, 2003).
- Malthodes brevicollis has been synonymised with Malthodes crassicornis (Alexander, 2003).
- Rhagonycha elongata is restricted to Scotland.
- Ancistronycha abdominalis is a local species found in Wales, Scotland, and northern England.
References
- A. G. Duff (2008). "Checklist of Beetles of the British Isles". The Coleopterist.
- UK Beetle Recording – Checklist of Soldier Beetles and Allies: coleoptera.org.uk/cantharidae/checklist
- UK Beetle Recording – Cantharidae: coleoptera.org.uk/family/cantharidae
- Fitton, M. (1973/2006). Keys to the Adults of the British Species – Cantharidae.
