Rove Beetles
What are they?
Slender, carnivorous beetles that are voracious predators and roam actively over the ground in search of prey. Many species are proficient fliers and many are found in specific habitats - which can be an aid to identification. This is a large family of often very small beetles and many are unidentifiable to species without a microscope and/or dissection.
Identification
Rove beetles typically are rather slender insects and have stubby wing cases - features that can cause confusion with earwigs. Some will hook up their rear ends like a scorpion and emit an acrid liquid if pestered. They lack the usually obvious tail pincers of earwigs and have shorter antennae. Identification to species is often impossible in the field for the majority of specimens, but some of the larger species can be worked out.
Paederus littorarius
A brightly colored, black-and-red species of beetle which may be found under stones and in sandy areas.
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Platydracus maculosus
Our largest rove beetle which is overall dull brown with golden reflections on the underside and legs. Most remarkably, this species is an excellent wasp mimic, having blackish-blue wings and a twitchy way of moving that closely resembles the spiderhunter wasps.
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