SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Beetle, (Rhagonycha fulva), feeding on oxeye daisy flower, Scotland, UK, July.

Ross Hoddinott / 2020VISION / Pair of mating soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) on Common ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), Arne RSPB reserve, Dorset, England, UK, August. Did you know? In some areas this insect is called the “bloodsuck...

Wild Wonders of Europe / Bartocha / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) pair mating on Wild carrot (Daucus carota carota) flower, Hvblege, Mn, Denmark, July 2009

Kim Taylor / Black-tipped Soldier Beetle {Rhagonycha fulva} taking off from Creeping Thistle {Cirsium arvense} Surrey, England.

Heather Angel / Saxon wasp (Dolichovespula saxonica) and Common red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) feeding on Broad leaved helleborine (Epipactis helleborine). Surrey, England, UK. August.

Nick Upton / Helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris) peering at Soldier beetle (Cantharis rustica) with warning colouration, whilst foraging for insects in meadow. Domesticated. Near Bath, England, UK. May.

Joao Burini / Frontal portrait of a Soldier beetle (Cantharidae) South-east atlantic forest. Piedade, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Sandra Bartocha / Soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) Mon, Denmark, September.

Paul Bertner / Soldier Fly (Stratiomyidae) female, beetle mimic, Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania

Nick Upton / Female Comb-footed spider (Enoplognatha ovata) wrapping a Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) with silk after injecting it with venom. Chalk grassland meadow, Wiltshire, UK, July.

Rod Williams / Common Red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) on Creeping thistle, Sutcliffe Park Nature Reserve, Eltham, London, UK July

Lorraine Bennery / Common soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) mating, Haute-Savoie, France, June.

Lorraine Bennery / Common soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) mating pairs, La Brenne Regional Natural Park, France, June.

Lorraine Bennery / Common soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) mating, Haute-Savoie, France, June.

Alan Williams / Beetle (Cantharis nigricans) resting on leaf at edge of meadow, Cheshire, UK, May.

Rod Williams / Soldier Beetle (Cantharis rustica) Sutcliffe Park Nature Reserve, London., Eltham, London, UK. May

Rod Williams / Soldier Beetle (Cantharis livida) Sutcliffe Park Nature Reserve, London., Eltham, London, UK. June

Andy Sands / Sawfly (Tenthredo amoena) feeding on Red Soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) on flower of wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), Oxfordshire, England, UK, July

Rod Williams / Three Common red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) on thistle, Sutcliffe Park Nature Reserve, Eltham, London, England, July.

Rod Williams / Soldier beetle (Cantharis rustica) on leaf, Brockley Cemetery, Lewisham, London, England, May.

MYN / Niall Benvie / Soldier beetle (Cantharis sp) in the field studio, Scotland UK, June.

MYN / Niall Benvie / Soldier beetle (Cantharis sp) in the field studio, Scotland UK, June.

MYN / Niall Benvie / Soldier beetle (Cantharis sp) with wings out, Scotland UK, June.

MYN / Edwin Brosens / Soldier beetles (Cantharis rustica) mating, Oude Buische Heide Nature Reserve, Achtmaal, Netherlands. May. meetyourneighbours.net project

Alex Hyde / Pair of mating Soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva), Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, UK. July.

John Abbott / Downy Leatherwinged Beetle ( Podabrus pruinosus) on white background, Kernville, Kern County, California, USA, June.

MYN / Joao P. Burini / Soldier beetle (Cantharidae sp) Sorocaba, Sao Paolo, Brazil. Meetyourneighbours.net project

MYN / Joao P. Burini / Soldier beetle (Cantharidae sp) Sorocaba, Sao Paolo, Brazil. Meetyourneighbours.net project

MYN / Matt Cole / Soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) on a dew covered seed head, Leicestershire, England, UK, July. meetyourneighbours.net project

Paul Harcourt Davies / Checkered beetel (Trichodes alvearius) a colourful soldier beetle, Orvieto, Italy, May

Adrian Davies / Black-Tipped Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) group with some mating, on Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) The Gower, Wales, July

Nick Upton / Black and red soldier beetles (Cantharis rustica) mating on a grass blade, Wiltshire meadow, UK, May.

Eric Baccega / Soldier beetle (Cantharis fusca) on plant Alsace, France

Eric Baccega / Soldier beetle (Cantharis fusca) on plant, Alsace, France

Nick Upton / Common red soldier beetles / Black-tipped soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) feeding and mating on Wild Carrot / Queen Anne's lace flowerhead (Daucus carota), chalk grassland meadow, Wiltshire, UK, Ju...

Ross Hoddinott / Black-tipped Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) on grass stem. Tamar Lakes, Cornwall, UK, July.

Rolf Nussbaumer / Soldier beetles (Cantharidae), mating on Cowpen Daisy, Golden Crownbeard (Verbesina encelioides), blooming. Laredo, Webb County, South Texas, USA, April.

Rolf Nussbaumer / Soldier beetles (Cantharidae) mating on Cowpen Daisy / Golden Crownbeard (Verbesina encelioides) blooming. Laredo, Webb County, South Texas, USA, April.

Mark Moffett / Soldier Beetle (Cantharidae) feeding on Southern Magnonia (Magnolia grandiflora) flower nectar, National Arboretum, Washington D.C.

Laurent Geslin / Black and red soldier beetle (Cantharis rustica) spreading its wings on a flowerhead in a garden in Paris, France

Stephen Dalton / Soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) pair mating on plantain flower, UK

Stephen Dalton / Soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) pair mating on plantain flower, UK

Stephen Dalton / Soldier beetle (Cantharis pellucida) taking off, Multiflash sequence image

Dietmar Nill / Soldier beetle (Cantharis fusca) mating pair, Germany

Wild Wonders of Europe / Radisics / Soldier beetles (Cantharis fusca) mating on Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) Hortobagy National Park, Hungary, July 2009

Scott Leslie / Soldier Beetle (Cantharidae) pair on lily pad, West Stoney Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada

Scott Leslie / Soldier Beetle (Cantharidae) on lily pad, West Stoney Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada

Scott Leslie / Soldier Beetle (Cantharidae) on lily pad, West Stoney Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada

PREMAPHOTOS / Striped caterpillar larva of Cinnabar moth (Tyria / Callimorpha jacobaea) beside a mating pair of warningly coloured Soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) UK

SINCLAIR STAMMERS / Soldier beetles mating (Rhagonycha fulva) England, UK

Kim Taylor / Forest termites {Isoptera} mound open showing workers, soldier and commensal beetle. E

Kim Taylor / Black-tipped soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) covered in pollen, UK. after feeding on

Larry Michael / Black sampson coneflower {Echinacea purpurea} + Soldier beetle. {Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus} Wisconsin, USA

PREMAPHOTOS / Soldier beetles on ragwort {Rhagonycha fulva} England, UK

Nigel Cattlin / Wild Sea carrot (Daucus carota subsp. gummifer), flowering on cliffs in South Devon, England, UK. July

Kim Taylor / Black-tipped soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) on hawkweed, Surrey, England

Premaphotos / Soldier beetles (Cantharis livida) mating pair, UK

Premaphotos / Common soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) mating on Creeping thistle flower, with a second male trying to dislodge the mating male, UK

Premaphotos / Black-and-red soldier beetle (Cantharis rustica) mating pair, UK

Premaphotos / Black-and-red soldier beetle (Cantharis rustica) mating pair, UK

Premaphotos / Common soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) mating pairs on Creeping thistle flower, UK

Guy Edwardes / Soldier beetle (Cantharis nigra) resting on leaf, Powerstock Common Nature Reserve, Dorset, England, UK. June.

Stephen Dalton / Soldier beetle (Cantharidae) in flight, Sussex, England. May.

Roman Willi / Soldier beetle (Trichodes alvearius) resting on flower covered in pollen, Lucerne, Switzerland. December. Focus stacked.

Roman Willi / Common red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) pair mating on flower head, Lucerne, Switzerland. July. Focus stacked.

Bruce Thomson / Plague soldier beetles (Chauliognathus lugubris) swarming on vegetation, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.

John Waters / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) on grass stem preparing to fly, hay meadow, Devon, UK, July.

Rod Williams / Soldier beetle (Cantharis thoracica) In reed habitat Scarce and local Sutcliffe Park Nature Reserve, Eltham, London, England, UK. July.

Etienne Littlefair / Salmon catfish (Neoarius graeffei), a large fish with barramundi in the background, Katherine region, Northern Territory, Australia, July.

Nick Upton / Black and red soldier beetle (Cantharis rustica) about to take off from a flowering grass in a chalk grassland meadow, Wiltshire, UK, May.

Neil Aldridge / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) flying from a grass stem in a garden, North Somerset, United Kingdom, July.

Neil Aldridge / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) climbing a grass stem in a garden, North Somerset, United Kingdom, July.

Neil Aldridge / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) flying from a grass stem in a garden, North Somerset, United Kingdom, July.

Edwin Giesbers / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) pair mating in grass. The Netherlands. July.

Edwin Giesbers / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) pair mating amongst flowers. The Netherlands. July.

Andy Sands / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) mating pair on grass stem at dawn covered in dew, Hertfordshire, England, UK, July - Focus Stacked

Andy Sands / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) climbing up grass with dew drops, Hertfordshire, England, UK, July - Focus Stacked

Nick Upton / Cinnabar moth caterpillar (Tyria jacobaeae) and a Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) feeding on Ragwort flowers (Senecio jacobaea), Wiltshire, England, UK, July.

Nick Upton / Close-up of a Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) nectar feeding on Common hogweed flowers (Heracleum sphondylium), Wiltshire, England, UK, July.

Nick Upton / Common red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) mating while nectar feeding on Common hogweed flowers (Heracleum sphondylium), Wiltshire, England, UK, July.

Nick Upton / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) nectar feeding on Common hogweed flowers (Heracleum sphondylium), Wiltshire, England, UK, July.

Nick Upton / Common red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) nectar feeding and looking for mates on Common hogweed flowers (Heracleum sphondylium), Wiltshire, England, UK, July.

Nick Upton / Common red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) nectar feeding and looking for mates on Common hogweed flowers (Heracleum sphondylium), Wiltshire, England, UK, July.

Nick Upton / Common red soldier beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) mating while nectar feeding on Common hogweed flowers (Heracleum sphondylium), Wiltshire, England, UK, July.

Rod Williams / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) with pollen-covered face, Brockley Cemetery, Lewisham, London, England, UK. June.

Nigel Cattlin / Common red soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) gathering, feeding and mating on a hogweed flower in summer, Berkshire, England, UK, July

Nick Upton / Common red soldier beetle / Black-tipped soldier beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) nectar feeding on Common hogweed flowers (Heracleum sphondylium) in a chalk grassland meadow, Wiltshire, UK, July.