Bloody-nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa)

OTHER NAMES: Blood Spewing Beetle, Blood Spewer

Latin Etymology: Timarcha (?) tenebricosa ("dark/gloomy")

Adult Bloody-nosed Beetle (subspecies T. t.anglica) at Trevose Head, Cornwall - April 2015

Featured Subspecies: Timarcha tenebricosa anglica
Length: 20-23mm 
UK Status: Not Evaluated / IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

The Bloody-nosed Beetle is a large distinctive species of Beetle found through the UK - it is flightless and has a distinctive walking stance which makes it appear to have a very high centre of gravity.  It gets its name from a distinctive defense mechanism it has - when it feels threatened it exudes droplets of foul tasting bright red liquid from around its mouth to repel predators. This is another flightless species - the wing cases are actually fused shut.

Related Species:
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Chrysomelidae
Genus: Timarcha
SUBSPECIES: T. t. anglica, T. t. angusticollis, T. t. heyrowskyi, T. t. moravica, T. t. motschulskyri, T. t. normandiana, T. t. pauperata, T. t. submontana, T. t. tenebricosa, T. t. transgrediens

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto