#3354 · 🪲 beetles
Heather Beetle
🇳🇱 Heidekever ·Lochmaea suturalis
9 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
what is it?
Lochmaea suturalis , commonly referred to as the heather beetle , is a beetle of the genus Lochmaea native to north-west Europe. It feeds upon heather. 24 in) long. They have a tendency to hide, and they drop into the undergrowth if they are disturbed. They are easier to see when in large numbers on the same plant.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 46 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 1,749 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named by Carl Gustaf Thomson in 1866 (160 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Heather Beetle
- Nederlands
- Heidekever
- scientific name
- Lochmaea suturalis
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Coleoptera
- family
- Chrysomelidae
- sightings in NL
- 46
- sightings in Europe
- 553
- sightings worldwide
- 1,749
- GBIF records in NL
- 260
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1866 by Carl Gustaf Thomson
relatives· Chrysomelidae
#3166 📷 8Alder Leaf Beetle
🇳🇱 Elzenhaantje
Agelastica alni
👀 1.5k in NL
#3181 📷 10Green Dock Beetle
🇳🇱 Groen zuringhaantje
Gastrophysa viridula
👀 515 in NL
#3184 📷 9Colorado Potato Beetle
🇳🇱 Coloradokever
Leptinotarsa decemlineata
👀 476 in NL
#3185 📷 10Rosemary Beetle
🇳🇱 Rozemarijngoudhaantje
Chrysolina americana
👀 475 in NL
#3205 📷 10Poplar Leaf Beetle
🇳🇱 Grote populierenhaan
Chrysomela populi
👀 247 in NL
#3209 📷 10Willow Flea-beetle
🇳🇱 Gouden wilgenaardvlo
Crepidodera aurata
👀 234 in NL
#3210 📷 10Mint beetle
🇳🇱 Blauw muntgoudhaantje
Chrysolina coerulans
👀 228 in NL
#3213 📷 10Gewone rietkever
Donacia clavipes
👀 197 in NL
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 391842, Wikidata Q1315525, GBIF 4461356, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.