Mycetophagus quadripustulatus

Description

Length 5 or 6 mm. A dark blackish beetle with four large oval orange spots. It has a red head and black pronotum.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Associated with fungi especially the bracket fungus Polyporus squamosus (Dryad’s Saddle).

When to see it

Spring and early summer are peak times.

Life History

The larvae are fungus feeders.

UK Status

Widespread and fairly frequent throughout England north to mid Yorkshire and with scattered records from Scotland.

VC55 Status

Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland. There were a total of 63 VC55 records for this species up to March 2015.

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:
Mycetophagidae
Records on NatureSpot:
5
First record:
21/09/2013 (FINCH, GRAHAM)
Last record:
18/07/2025 (Cooper, Barbara)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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