Hermit beetle
The hermit beetle is a big, shiny, dark beetle that lives in old hollow trees. Its babies grow up inside the soft, crumbly wood deep in the tree. It is rare, and many countries in Europe protect it.
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Fun facts
It likes old oak trees best, but any tree with a good hollow can be its home.
In Italy, specially trained sniffer dogs help scientists find its larvae inside trees.
It is the best studied of all the insects that live in old hollow trees.
It has become rare because many old hollow trees have been cut down, so the European Union gives it top protection.
Most asked questions about Hermit beetle
?Is the hermit beetle rare?
Yes. It has become rare across Europe and is protected in most European countries.
?Where does the hermit beetle live?
Inside old hollow trees, mostly oaks, in Europe.
?How big is a hermit beetle?
About 2 to 3 centimetres long.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Osmoderma eremita
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Scarabaeidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Scarabaeidae
- Lives on
- Europe
- Also known as
- Russian leather beetle
Where the facts come from
- Osmoderma eremita (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Siga. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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