Megatoma undata
Megatoma undata is a much rarer species. The animal in the pictures is a male, which you can tell by looking at the markings and the antennae. The white markings are much duller and smaller in females. Besides females have shorter and smaller antennae. Adult beetles measure some 3 to 7 mm. The larvae feed on dead stuff, usually the remains of other insects. It has been found under loose bark, in spider webs (not as a victim, but eating insect remains) and in the nests of bats. According to some sites, mainly British, Megatoma undata inhabits older forests. On some other sites, mostly German, it is a species reported to be found in the nests of bats. Even though adults overwinter, the majority of adults is seen from May to July. Sometimes on a dead tree trunk, where the females live in holes, which they rarely leave. Males may walk about a bit and are seen visiting flowers to eat nectar en pollen occasionally. The species simply is not observed very often. That is why it is on red lists of threatened species in both England and Germany. Because of the hidden ways this creatures walks about it is very hard to say to what extend this species really is rare.
