Red-legged Ham Beetle

Necrobia rufipes · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Cleridae

Also called: Copra Beetle, Redlegged ham beetle, ham beetle, Red-Legged Copra Beetle

Can damage your home. It damages stored food such as dried or smoked meats and salted fish.

The adult red-legged ham beetle is a small, shiny beetle about 3.5 to 7 mm long with metallic green or blue bodies and bright red legs and antennae. It feeds on the larvae of other meat-infesting insects and also attacks dry meats, smoked products, dried fish, cheese, and other stored animal foods. Because it can infest pantry items, it is considered a significant stored-food pest worldwide.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The beetle’s body shines metallic green or bluish-green, while its legs and antennae are red.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults measure between 3.5 and 7 mm in length.

Source: Wikipedia

Is it a pest in the house?

Refrigeration has reduced their impact, but they remain a major pest of dried and salted fish like herring.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The species occurs globally, not limited to a single region.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It should not be mixed up with Korynetes caeruleus, another blue-shining clerid beetle.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 40 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, California, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Colorado.

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Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Red-legged Ham Beetle photo 2 — Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Red-legged Ham Beetle photo 3 — Photo: Cricket Raspet, CC BY

Red-legged Ham Beetle photo 4 — Photo: Jeff Clark, CC BY

Red-legged Ham Beetle photo 5 — Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Questions people ask

What does the red-legged ham beetle look like?

It is a tiny (3.5 to 7 mm) shiny beetle with a metallic green or bluish body and bright red legs and antennae.

Source: Wikipedia

Is the red-legged ham beetle a problem for stored food?

Yes, it is a known pest of dried meats, smoked products, and salted fish, damaging pantry items worldwide.

Source: Wikipedia

How can I tell it apart from similar beetles?

Unlike its cousin Necrobia violacea, which has all dark legs, the red-legged ham beetle has red legs; Necrobia ruficollis has lighter wing-cover shoulders, and Korynetes caeruleus is a different blue clerid species.

Source: Wikipedia