 | Soldier Beetle - Trypherus
latipennis Order Coleoptera / Family Cantahridae (Soldier Beetles) Live adult beetles photographed at West Chicago Prairie, DuPage County, Illinois. This is a small beetle as soldiers go. About 10mm long, but not much more than 3mm wide. |
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Members of the approximately 3,500 species of the widely distributed insect family Cantharidae are commonly known as soldier beetles or leatherwings. It is thought the brightly-colored elytra (hardened outer wings that cover the soft flying wings), often striped or outlined in black, resemble soldiers' uniforms; the leathery appearance accounts for the other less common moniker. There are 16 genera and 455 species of Cantharidae in North America. Adults are abundant on flowers and foliage where they feed on nectar, pollen, or other insects. Larvae of most species are carnivorous, a few species feed on plants. |
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| Soldier beetle larvae are said to feed on caterpillars and other small, soft-bodied insects. Adult beetles feed on nectar and pollen; they do no damage to the plants which harbor them and are not considered an agricultural pest. |
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