Bug FAQEuropean Red-bellied Clerid
Thanasimus formicarius · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Cleridae
Also called: Ant beetle / European Red-bellied Clerid, Ant Beetle, Ant-loving checkered beetle
The European red-bellied clerid is a medium-sized, soft-bodied beetle with strong mandibles for tearing bark beetles. It lives in Europe, overwinters at the base of conifers and emerges in spring to hunt bark-beetle larvae and adults.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults are medium in size, have a relatively soft body, and possess strong mandibles that can cut through the hard bark of beetles.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
Their body shape and coloration may mimic the painful-stinging velvet ants of the genus Mutilla.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They spend the winter at the base of conifer trees and are rarely found on deciduous trees. In spring they fly down the trunks of trees to hunt bark beetles.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults feed on at least 27 species of bark beetles from 15 genera that attack both coniferous and broad-leaf trees. Larvae live inside bark-beetle galleries and eat the immature stages of the beetles.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Larvae develop slowly, remaining in the larval stage for about two years before pupating in the fall within the outer bark. Adult beetles live for roughly four to ten months.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults emerge in spring and begin hunting lower parts of trees. Females lay eggs from April through June.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They are common predators of bark beetles throughout Europe.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
They can be confused with velvet ants (Mutilla) because of similar body shape and red-bellied coloration.
Source: Wikipedia
Status: introduced in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
More photos
Questions people ask
What do European red-bellied clerids eat?
They prey on many bark-beetle species that infest both coniferous and broad-leaf trees.
Source: Wikipedia
When are they active?
Adults emerge in spring, hunt lower parts of trees, and females lay eggs from April to June.
Source: Wikipedia
Where are they found?
They are common throughout Europe, especially on conifer trees where they overwinter at the base.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Cleridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanasimus_formicarius
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.