Black-headed Cardinal Beetle

Pyrochroa coccinea

Pyrochroa coccinea, commonly known as the Black-headed cardinal beetle, is a species of cardinal beetle in the family Pyrochroidae. It is found mainly in wooded areas and pastures throughout central Europe, including southern Great Britain. Similar to other species of ambrosia beetles, P. coccinea live and reproduce on wooden logs in early stages of decomposition. Larvae develop over the span of many years, with overlapping generations often inhabiting a single wooden territory. Adults, however, are short-lived and exist during a brief season. They typically show up in April, become more populous in May and early June, and become very rare in the remaining months. Source

Where it is now

In the last 8 weeks this insect was recorded 1 times across 1 area (each area is a 5 degree square).

See the Black-headed Cardinal Beetle on the live map

Movement and weather

Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 14°C (typically 14 to 18°C, from 5 areas). That holds across 15° of latitude, which suggests its timing follows temperature more than the calendar.

Arrival dates

The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.

Download every area as CSV

Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.