This important native predator occurs throughout the summer season. The adults are partly carnivorous and search actively over cotton plants during the day.  Adults are found in the crop canopy in the mornings and after sunset. On hot afternoons or when disturbed, they generally shelter in soil cracks under plants and thus sometimes escape insecticide sprays.

Identification: Adults are 5mm long with bright red and metallic blue bands across the body and a dark head, legs and antennae.

Lifecycle: The red and blue beetle lays eggs in clusters on soil debris. The egg, larval and pupal stages occur in the soil. Their life cycle generally takes about one year. They overwinter as adults.

Habitat: The distinctive red and blue beetle is extremely abundant in a range of habitats in some years and is rare in other years. They have been found in gardens, bushland and cropping landscapes.

Targeted prey: They eat eggs and very small and small Helicoverpa larvae, aphids and probably other slow-moving insects. The larvae feed on small worms and other soil organisms. It has been reported that the larvae of a related species, D. Villosus (Lea), prey on locust eggs.

 
The well known Red and Blue beetle will eat eggs and small slow-moving pests. They are normally abundant in a range of rural and urban landscapes. 5mm Photo: D. McClenaghan