Bug FAQScarlet Malachite Beetle
Malachius aeneus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Melyridae
Its larvae are found near cereal crops and prey on the pollen beetle Brassicogethes aeneus in Great Britain.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Malachius aeneus, the scarlet malachite beetle, belongs to the soft-winged flower beetle family Melyridae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Larvae are commonly found near cereal crops and act as predators of Brassicogethes aeneus.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on the pollen beetle Brassicogethes aeneus.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The larvae occur near cereal crops and prey on Brassicogethes aeneus.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Malachius aeneus is the scientific name for the scarlet malachite beetle.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 25 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, Massachusetts, Utah, Montana, Vermont, New York, Michigan, Maine.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in North America; introduced in Canada; introduced in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Melyridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malachius_aeneus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.