Mordellidae
Common name:
Tumbling flower beetlesNumber of species:
17Size Range:
2-9mmTarsi:
5-5-4.Images:
Description:
The 2012 checklist gives 17 British species of Mordellidae, but this is a taxonomically-confused group, with several recent descriptions and synonomisations from the British fauna. As a group they are distinctive: oval-elongate, pubescent brown or black beetles, 2-9mm long, with an extended, elongate pygidium reminiscent of a sting. Adults are characteristically found curled in a c-shape on flowers, where they feed on pollen. When disturbed, their general escape mechanism is to skip about and tumble from the flowers, hence their vernacular name.