Key for the identification of British Oedemeridae

There are ten species on the British list, some of which are conspicuous flower-feeders and so are often noticed. The updated key below should allow identification of all British species although confident diagnosis of some is only possible in males.

The Oedemeridae are one of the groups of beetles with thread-like antennae and a 2-lobed segment on the hind tarsus. Within this group they have this combination of features:

• tarsus of the hind leg formed of four segments; front and middle legs with five tarsal segments

• head lacking a distinct neck with the back of the head recessed into the thorax

• pronotum longer than wide

• elytra with three or four distinct longitudinal ridges

• elytra usually either not fully covering the abdomen or not meeting along the middle, diverging from one another towards the tip