Hobby gardeners are amazed when they suddenly find a five centimeter large beetle in the garden. There are several species that can reach such an impressive height. Some of them prefer to be close to humans. But few are harmful.

The forest dung beetle is anything but a pest

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Common black bugs
  3. Preferred habitats
  4. Fight black bugs?
  5. frequently asked Questions

    6. the essentials in brief

    • Longhorn beetles are large, black beetles that eat dead wood or living trees, depending on the species.
    • Schröter are beautiful stag beetles that grow up to 9cm tall.
    • Dung beetles are important to our ecosystem as they decompose dung.
    • Meal beetles are storage pests and often occur in large numbers.

    Common black bugs

    There are numerous black beetles, but only a few are ancestral and settle in human dwellings. Many of them are not pests, but only become annoying in large numbers. Depending on the species, the beetles reach a size of between 10 and 80 millimeters. Although many of these species are winged, they can rarely be seen in flight.

    longhorn beetle

    Beetles with long antennae belong to the longhorn beetle family. Their antennae are longer than the body, which is usually stretched and flat. Many species feed on flower parts, pollen or tree sap. Others eat fresh bark, leaves, or stems of herbaceous plants and trees. However, the majority of all longhorn beetle larvae feed on wood, with the condition of the wood playing an important role. Not every longhorn beetle is a wood pest, because many larvae only eat dead wood.

    • Big oak buck: black-brown, larvae feed on old oak heartwood
    • Little oak goat: monochromatic black, larvae decompose wood of various deciduous trees
    • house goat: brown to black, larvae feed on dead softwood and lumber

    Schroeter

    A black beetle with pincers is distinctive. This stag beetle is a successful successor to culture and, like the beam schröter, belongs to the Schröter family. Most species in this family are wingless when fully grown and stop eating. The eating stage is formed by the larvae, which mainly live in dead wood. Some Schröter are attracted by artificial light sources and occasionally stray into the apartment.

    Characteristics:

    • between eight millimeters and nine centimeters in size
    • variable coloring: brick red, reddish brown or black
    • Males often with conspicuous mouthparts
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    dung beetle

    These beetles are between 10 and 45 millimeters long and can be dark brown, purple or black in colour. Their bodies often have a metallic sheen. The wood dung beetle is a common species that can be found crawling across the forest floor or in the garden. In flight, the animals appear sluggish. Since they feed on the dung of other animals, they are considered important decomposers in the natural ecosystem.

    digression

    Impressive orientation

    The vine cutter (Lethrus apterus) is a dung beetle belonging to the subfamily Lethrinae. It occurs in the extreme south-east of Central Europe and has amazed researchers. When the nocturnal beetles leave their brood chamber to look for food sources, they use starlight for orientation. To do this, they stand on a dung ball and rotate on their own vertical axis. You memorize the image of the night sky with its light sources like a snapshot.

    black beetle

    The flour beetle is often found in flour

    A distant relative of mealworms and dung beetles that can fly is the flour beetle. It belongs to the black beetle family, which prefers warm habitats and often occurs as a successor to cultures. Therefore, they are often found in the vicinity of humans.

    Black beetles are between one and 50 millimeters long and have a variable physique. This makes them easily confused with other beetles. Most species are completely black or black-brown. There are beetles with a rusty yellow or brown color.

    scientific habitat food pest size
    Big dead beetles Blaps mortisaga in dark places in cellars, barns and stables decompose organic material no 2 to 3 cm
    flour beetle Tenebrio molitor Mulm, rotting wood and birds' nests, flour and grain Insectivores, feed on starch Yes 1 to 2 cm
    Beam Schroeter Dorcus parallelipipedus Deciduous forests and orchards with mature trees feed on tree sap no 1 to 3 cm
    stag beetle Lucanus cervus warm open landscapes suck plant juices no Males 3 to 8 cm, females 3 to 5 cm
    forest dung beetle Anoplotrupes stercorosus Beech forests, gardens decomposes feces, eats mushrooms and sucks tree saps no 1 to 2 cm

    Flying black beetle in the garden?

    This "bug" is the blue-black carpenter bee

    The supposed beetle is often the blue-black carpenter bee, which is unmistakable with blue wings. It is the largest wild bee that you can see in Germany. It comes out of its winter quarters in spring with the first warm rays of sunshine and looks for food on nectar-rich flowering plants.

    What Carpenter Bees Like:

    • Sweet peas, honeysuckle and rosemary
    • dead tree trunks
    • sunlit places

    Where the beetles can appear

    Animals that have benefited from numerous advantages due to changes in the landscape caused by humans are referred to as cultural followers. They find better food sources, safe havens, and warm winter quarters. Therefore, these animals, like many black beetles, follow humans and settle in cultivated landscapes and in buildings.

    Black beetles belong to different families and have different ways of life. Their diet is correspondingly diverse.

    In the garden

    Most species prefer varied habitats where plants, shrubs and trees provide food. Deadwood provides a safe retreat and place to overwinter. In addition, many beetles lay their eggs in the rotten wood. Dark niches under piles of stones or wooden pallets are also popular with various beetles.

    tips

    With a garden that is close to nature and as varied as possible, you can offer endangered species a habitat. Even small areas that are left to themselves are enough.

    in the house

    If you find a beetle at home, you should carry it outside with great care and under no circumstances kill it

    If you find a black beetle in your home, don't panic. Most species entered the building accidentally through open windows because they were attracted to light sources.

    Species like the great death beetle prefer dark and undisturbed areas like basements and barns. In nature, they often live in burrows of various mammals. Wood-dwelling longhorn beetle larvae are difficult to detect. They usually have a development period of several years and are also only rarely observed as an adult insect in the house.

    Fight black bugs?

    Before you initiate any measures to combat it, you should identify the species precisely. Not every beetle is considered a pest. Many insects are useful because they eliminate and decompose organic matter and debris. Identifying the species is also important because not every black beetle becomes a nuisance, but is subject to legal protection.

    specially protected frequency
    Big dead beetles no still common, probably going back
    flour beetle no one of the most common culture followers
    Beam Schroeter Yes not endangered
    stag beetle Yes highly endangered
    forest dung beetle no often
    Big oak buck Yes threatened with extinction
    Little oak goat Yes frequent, decreases strongly locally
    house goat no often
    Blue-black carpenter bee no often in warm regions

    Fight black beetles

    The flour beetle is becoming less and less common as a storage pest. The species can still reproduce well in buildings that were formerly used to store grain. The beetles are extremely agile and look for suitable places in the home to lay their eggs. They crawl into dark niches or between pipes under covers. Flour, spaghetti and bird grains are optimal food sources.

    How to fight flour beetles:

    • Clean cupboards and drawers
    • Vacuum out niches behind stove and furniture
    • Store vacuum cleaner bags in a sealed plastic bag
    • dispose of contaminated food
    • if an infestation is suspected, food can be saved by freezing

    tips

    Pheromone traps attract the beetles. It may be that the crawlers develop into a plague even more quickly.

    frequently asked Questions

    Are there big black bugs with blue wings?

    The blue-black carpenter bee hides behind the supposed beetle with the striking wing coloration. It has little in common with the beetles. The impressive insect is the largest native wild bee species. It can be seen foraging for food in spring. Flowering plants rich in nectar are optimal sources of energy.

    What is the name of the big black beetle with pincers?

    If you spot one of these beetles in your garden, count yourself lucky. You have probably found a stag beetle. Only the males develop these conspicuous mouthparts. However, they no longer have a function because the animal cannot take care of itself. The female helps the partner by enlarging wounds in the bark of oak trees. The beetles then suck up the escaping plant sap.

    Which black beetles have long antennae?

    Strikingly long antennae are typical of the species of longhorn beetle. The antennae usually exceed the body size, which makes these beetles unmistakable. However, their coloring is variable. Not every longhorn beetle is black in color. Most species are iridescently colored, with the color palette ranging from blood red to blue to metallic green.

    Which beetle native to Germany is the biggest?

    Beetles in Central Europe can grow between two millimeters and eight centimeters in size. The stag beetle is the largest of the native beetle species. The females are a little smaller than the males at three to five centimetres. These grow up to eight centimeters long. This body size can exceed a species from the longhorn beetle family. At 17 centimetres, the giant longhorned beetle is the world's largest species of beetle. However, this occurs in Brazil.

    How can I distinguish black beetles?

    Look at pictures on destination portals. Large beetles can be identified quite easily, since they usually develop conspicuously visible body features. Body shape, antennae and elytra can be used to identify the family. For an accurate identification of the species it may be necessary to take a closer look at the limbs, pronotum or mouthparts.

Category:

Animals in the garden