Adult length about 7–10 mm.
Fine-art photographic collection
Lagria hirta
A shaggy beetle whose larva carries defensive bacteria in three specialised pouches on its back.
About this species
Hirta Beetle
Lagria hirta(Linnaeus, 1758)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Lagria hirta is a soft-bodied darkling beetle of summer grassland and woodland edge. Adults visit flowers, while larvae live in humus and decomposing vegetation and maintain a remarkable inherited partnership with protective bacteria.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Tenebrionidae · Lagria
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Europe and western AsiaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Europe and western Asia
Grassland, woodland edge, hedgerows and gardens with leaf litter and flowering plants.
Adults are conspicuous in midsummer, often on low vegetation and flowers.
Adults take pollen and nectar; larvae feed in humus and decaying plant material.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
Larvae possess three specialised dorsal pouches packed with symbiotic bacteria that are carried through development and passed to the next generation.
The bacteria produce antifungal compounds that protect the beetle during vulnerable moulting and pupal stages in microbe-rich soil.
Hirta means “hairy”: the adult is wrapped in a dense golden-brown coat that makes a darkling beetle look almost mammalian.