Endomychus coccineus, the scarlet endomychus or false ladybird, is a species of beetles in the family Endomychidae.EoL
Description Endomychus coccineus can reach a length of about . The body is oval, convex and the sides of pronotum are almost straight. Head and legs are black. Pronotum is glossy red, with a black longitudinal area. Elytra are glossy red, each elytron shows two large oval black spots. In rare cases, the pronotum is completely red, the black spots on the elytra may be totally or partially missing. The flight time is from April to June.InsektenboxNicholas Hammond: The Wildlife Trusts Handbook of Garden Wildlife. New Holland Publisher, London 2008, .
The larvae are dark brown with yellow to orange spots symmetrically located in the lateral region of the segmented body, in each case at the head shield, and on the third, fourth, eighth and tenth segment.Biolib
Distribution and habitat This species is present in most of Europe, especially in the deciduous forests.Fauna EuropaeaHallan, Joel Synopsis of the described Coleoptera of the World
Biology Larvae of Endomychus coccineus feed on wood mushrooms, especially on old birch and beech stumps and on deciduous trees affected by the silver leaf fungus Chondrostereum purpureum.Dmitry S. Schigel - Fungivory of saproxylic Coleoptera: the mystery of rejected polypores
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