Coleoptera

Malachiidae

Soft-winged Flower Beetles

Malachius bipustulatus - Cheshire, England - June 2008

The Malachiidae are sometimes considered to be a subfamily of the Melyridae. There are 15 species of soft-winged beetles in Britain. While the larvae are exclusively predatory, the adults live mainly on a diet of nectar and pollen, although they do sometimes eat other flower-visiting insects.

Malachius bipustulatus - Cheshire, England - May 2009