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Insects and other arthropods

Sap beetles

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Description

These little insects are 1.5 to 12 mm long, with an oval but sometimes almost square or rectangular shape. The body is often somewhat flattened and shiny. Their colour varies from brown to black with irregular yellow-orange, yellowish or red marking.

Life cycle

The larva is usually white and has six thoracic legs. At the end of the larval stage, it moults into a nymph. The metamorphosis can occur in the soil, in a tree stump, under tree bark or in its food source. Some sap beetle species spend the winter as nymphs and others as adults.

Depending on the species, mating will take place before winter or in spring, with the eggs laid soon afterwards. At our latitudes, sap beetles living in the wild generally produce one generation per year, but some species are more prolific.