Cantharidae
41 spp., 7 genera in 3 subfamilies. 2-15mm. Elongate with more or less parallel sided elytra which may not completely cover the abdomen although the wings may. Elytra usually smooth, weakly striate in Malthinus flaveolus Paykull or with punctured striae, Malthinus seriepunctatus (Kiesenwetter) and Malthinus balteatus Suffrian. Eyes circular, always obvious, often very prominent e.g. Podabrus, Malthinus and Malthodes. Antennae long and filiform. Legs long, front tibiae not notched on inner side (cf Carabidae). All tarsi with 5 obvious segments (cf Chrysomelidae and Cerambycidae). Our only member of the Silinae is Silis ruficollis (Fab.), a rare insect from southern England and Wales. It is a distinctive species; 6-7mm., black with pronotum, base of tibiae and mandibles red. The pronotum is deeply notched at the hind angles and coarsely punctate throughout. Each elytron has three slightly raised lines. Members of Cantharinae have long elytra that cover, or very nearly cover, the wings and abdomen. Podabrus is featured. Ancistronycha abdominalis (Fab.) is a local northern english and welsh species, its metallic black or blue elytra are distinctive. It differs from Cantharis and Rhagonycha in having all claws entire and appendiculate. Cantharis (15 spp.) and Rhagonycha (7 spp.) complete the Cantharinae. In Cantharis the anterior claw of each pair is toothed and the third tarsal segment on the mid and hind legs is bilobed. In Rhagonycha the third tarsal segment is simple and the claws are divided longitudinally from the apex. Malthininae includes Malthinus (4 spp.), all of which have toothed mandibles, and Malthodes (12 spp.), with simple mandibles. All species have short elytra partly exposing both the wings and abdomen. They are all small insects. Included in Michael Fitton's work are the most recent keys in english to the British species. Joy's keys contain errors and some characters are not satisfactory. Dahlgren, G. and Wittmer, W. cover the family in Vol. 6 (1979) of Die Kafer Mitteleuropas, edited by Freud and updated in Vol. 13 (1992) by Lohse and Lucht. As well as giving an idea on the distribution of each species, Alexander presents much interesting ecological information on each species in his 2003 atlas. Common from late spring onwards the soldier/sailor beetles are soon recognised in the field, adults are short lived and there is a succession of species through to september when Rhagonycha fulva (Scopoli) may be seen in great numbers across England and Wales. Found by sweeping long grass and low vegetation or beating shrubs, woodland clearings and margins seem most productive in species. Flowers of all kinds should be examined. Some have particular requirements e.g. Rhagonycha testacea (Linnaeus) prefers wet woodland and marshes while others e.g. Rhagonycha limbata (Thomson) prefer dry pastures or are arboreal e.g. Rhagonycha lignosa (Muller). The lowland Cantharis pallida Goeze prefers open marshy vegetation. All species are believed to be carnivores or omnivores, larvae mostly in the ground or among moss.
Cantharinae
Cantharis cryptica	Cantharis cryptica
Cantharis decipiens	Cantharis decipiens	Cantharis decipiens
Cantharis lateralis	Cantharis lateralis	Cantharis lateralis	Cantharis lateralis	Cantharis lateralis
Cantharis livida	Cantharis livida
Cantharis nigra	Cantharis nigra	Cantharis nigra	Cantharis nigra
Cantharis nigricans
Cantharis pallida	Cantharis pallida	Cantharis pallida
Cantharis pellucida	Cantharis pellucida
Cantharis rufa
Cantharis rustica	Cantharis rustica	Cantharis rustica	Cantharis rustica	Cantharis rustica
Cantharis thoracica	Cantharis thoracica
Podabrus alpinus	Podabrus alpinus
Rhagonycha elongata
Rhagonycha fulva	Rhagonycha fulva	Rhagonycha fulva
Rhagonycha lignosa	Rhagonycha lignosa
Rhagonycha limbata	Rhagonycha limbata
Rhagonycha lutea
Rhagonycha testacea
Rhagonycha translucida
Silinae
Silis
Malthininae
Malthinus balteatus	Malthinus balteatus	Malthinus balteatus
Malthinus flaveolus
Malthinus seriepunctatus	Malthinus seriepunctatus	Malthinus seriepunctatus
Malthodes marginatus	Malthodes minimus	Malthodes minimus
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