Othius laeviusculus

Description

A small (5-6mm), mainly black rove beetle with elytra as long, or longer, than the pronotum. The terminal segment of the antennae is yellow, compared to the rest being red-brown.

Identification difficulty
ID checklist (your specimen should have all of these features)
  • 5-6mm
  • antennae on top of the head, well away from the front eye margins
  • mainly black or dark brown, some yellow on tip of tergite 8
  • elytra as long as the pronotum
  • pronotum with puncture lines narrowing towards the front
  • legs mainly dull yellow
  • weak microsculpture on the head but none on the pronotum
  • transverse microsculpture on tergites
Habitat

Varied, including open habitats and woodland.

When to see it

All year

UK Status

Widely distributed.

VC55 Status

Not commonly recorded.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Species group:
insect - beetle (Coleoptera)
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Coleoptera
Family:
Staphylinidae
Records on NatureSpot:
1
First record:
18/02/2026 (Nicholls, David)
Last record:
18/02/2026 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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