Adults commonly about 15–20 mm.
Fine-art photographic collection
Timarcha tenebricosa
A flightless black beetle that bleeds bright red defence fluid from its mouth when threatened.
About this species
Timarcha tenebricosa(Fabricius, 1775)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Timarcha tenebricosa is a large, slow-moving leaf beetle of grassland and scrub. Both adults and larvae feed mainly on bedstraws, and the species relies on chemical defence rather than flight.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Chrysomelidae · Timarcha
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
western and central EuropeBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
western and central Europe
Unimproved grassland, heath, scrub, verges and open woodland with bedstraw.
Adults walk on the ground and low vegetation, often in spring and autumn.
Bedstraws and closely related plants.
Solitary.
What makes this species remarkable?
When disturbed it performs reflex bleeding, forcing a vivid red-orange drop of bitter haemolymph from the mouth to deter attackers.
The wing cases are fused and there are no usable flight wings beneath them, so every journey is made on foot through the vegetation.
Both the heavy adults and dark larvae feed openly on bedstraw, protected by the same chemical defence that gives the beetle its “bloody-nosed” reputation.
More photographs
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