Adults are commonly about 8–13 mm long.
Fine-art photographic collection
Timarcha goettingensis
A flightless leaf beetle that makes itself “bleed” a foul red chemical defence from the mouth.
About this species
Lesser Bloody-nosed Beetle
Timarcha goettingensis(Linnaeus, 1758)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Timarcha goettingensis is a heavy, slow-moving leaf beetle associated with bedstraws. Its wing covers are fused and it cannot fly, but it can deter attackers by reflex bleeding brightly coloured haemolymph.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Chrysomelidae · Timarcha
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
EuropeBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Europe
Dry grassland, heath, scrub and open woodland where bedstraw grows.
Adults walk on the ground and low vegetation, often in spring and autumn.
Adults and larvae feed on bedstraws and related plants.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
When seized, the beetle releases bright red-orange haemolymph from the mouth, producing the dramatic “bloody nose” that gives it its common name.
Its elytra are fused and functional flight wings are absent, so this heavily armoured insect completes its entire life as a walker.
Both larvae and adults specialise on bedstraw, combining a narrow diet with chemical defence strong enough to protect a conspicuous slow-moving body.
More photographs
1