Scarlet Malachite Beetle

Malachius aeneus — the scarlet malachite beetle — is one of about 6,000 species in family Melyridae and one of the most striking small beetles of European meadow and woodland edge. Adults are 7-10 mm long with brilliant metallic emerald-green elytra (the family-typical malachite-green color) and vivid scarlet-red tips on the wing covers. The species is found across Europe and parts of western Asia in herbaceous meadows, woodland edges, and (notably in the UK) ancient unmown churchyards and hay meadows. Larvae are predatory, feeding on other small insects in dead wood, leaf litter, and soil. Adults feed on pollen and nectar — primarily from buttercups, umbelliferous flowers, and other open-meadow species. The species has experienced steep population declines across western Europe due to the loss of permanent hay meadow habitat to agricultural intensification (silage cropping, fertilization, herbicide use). In the UK, the species is now restricted to a handful of ancient churchyards and traditional hay meadows in southern England and is the focus of intensive conservation effort by Buglife and the UK Wildlife Trusts. The scarlet malachite beetle is a flagship UK invertebrate conservation species and one of the most-photographed beetles in British nature media.