Phylum: Arthropoda - Class: Insecta - Order: Coleoptera - Family: Cantharidae
Look out for Common Soldier Beetles (also known as Hogweed Bonking Beetles!) wherever you see flowers of the family Apiaceae (formerly referred to as the umbellifers) such as Wild Carrot, Fennel, Hemlock Water-dropwort and Hogweed for which they are important pollinators. The adult beetles can be seen from June through to the end of August. They feed on flower pollen and nectar but are also capable of killing and eating aphids and even caterpillars as well as other small insects. Gardeners therefore welcome them as valuable and very effective pest controllers.
The head, thorax and abdomen are orange-brown, while the wing cases are orange with a blackish patch at the apex. Males have larger eyes than females. Common Soldier Beetles are 8 to 10mm long. Their antennae are black, sometimes with an orange basal segment, and their feet are also black.
On breezy summer and autumn days, quite a few of these little beetles get blown onto the surface of streams and lakes, and they are an important food source for trout and grayling at such times. For more information about the various soldier beetles, see Pat O'Reilly's guide to Matching the Hatch.
O'Reilly, Pat. (1st Edition 1997; 8th reprint 2010; fully revised 2nd Edition 2017) Matching the Hatch. Shrewsbury: Quiller Publishing.
Foster G. N. & Friday L. E. (1988) Key to adults of the water beetles of Britain and Ireland (Part 1). Taunton: Field Studies Council.
Harde K.W. & Severa F. (1984) Field Guide in Colour to Beetles. Littlehampton Book Services.