Glischrochilus hortensis

Two species of Glischrochilus have been found in the UK since the publication of Duff. Several examples of one of these, Glisrochilus quadrisignatus, have been found in Norfolk - see Lane et al., 2022¹. A revised key to the five British species can be found in the next volume of The Coleopterist (Button, Boardman, Lane & Drewitt, 2023)²

¹Lane, S. A., Collier, M. J. & Allen, A. J. (2022). Glischrochilus quadrisignatus (Say, 1835) (Nitidulidae) new to Britain from Norfolk, with confirmed records from 2017 and 2022. The Coleopterist 31(3): 101-104

²Button, N. J., Boardman, P., Lane, S. A. & Drewitt, A. L. (2023). Glischrochilus grandis (Tournier, 1872) (Nitidulidae) new to Britain from South Lancashire, with an updated key to the genus. The Coleopterist 32(1): 1-4

All mine so far have been hortensis. My first experience of this attractive beetle was when I tried sugaring in 2020 with four turning up at my fruit and sugar solution mix.

Glischrochilus hortensis, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 17th July 2020

I found several more using the same approach that year and the following year.

Glischrochilus hortensis, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 4th September 2020

I haven't done much sugaring since then but found this one indoors. It isn't normally necessary to dissect this species to identify it but if one was to encounter one of the rarer species it could prove helpful to examine the genitalia - and then having experience of the commoner species' genitalia might be useful. So as this one was dead by the time I examined it anyway I dissected it. However it proved to be a female and I'm not aware of any differences between the female genitalia of the various Glischrochilus species.

female Glischrochilus hortensis showing spermatheca, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 29th April 2024

This one was in a pitfall trap (in propylene glycol so no live photos).

female Glischrochilus hortensis showing prosternal process, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 29th-31st March 2024