Enedreytes hilaris Fåhraeus, 1839

The European distribution includes Spain, France, including Corsica, Germany and Italy, including Sicily, and beyond this the species has been recorded from Greece, Turkey, Algeria and Morocco. With the exception of parts of Western- and Central France it is very local and rare and  it’s occurrence in most regions are based on very few records e.g. it was first recorded from Germany in 2014 and it has recently been recorded from Hungary and Iran. In continental Europe the species is active from May until September and peaks in abundance during June and July. Typical habitats are open and dry grassland and scrub where the host plant, Common Broom (Cytissus scoparius (L.)), is abundant. Little is known of the biology but reproduction presumably occurs in late spring or early summer as the larvae, which are known to feed within host stems, have been found during the summer. Included on the UK list from several specimens swept from Broom on acid grassland in south eastern England during September 2014 and September 2015 (Bantock, T. & Flanagan, J. 2015), these are thought to have arrived recently as the site had been sampled regularly over previous years.

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3.0-4.0 mm. Elongate and discontinuous in outline, body, including the rostrum, clothed with elongate dark brown and light brown scales which often give a mottled appearance, especially where the cuticle is exposed, antennae brown with darker clubs, legs brown, usually with the tibiae ringed with darker scales. Head transverse, flat or slightly concave between convex and prominent eyes, temples short and usually hardly visible, rostrum quadrate, not expanded in front of the eyes, vertex and frons densely punctured. Antennae inserted laterally some distance from the eyes, the insertions not visible from above, 11-segmented with a narrow 3-segmented club, segments 3-8 long and narrow, Pronotum quadrate, broadest before the base and narrowed to an almost straight apical margin, basal margin weakly curved, surface densely punctured throughout and with a raised transverse ridge in front of the basal margin. Scutellum small but obvious and covered with white or creamy scales. Elytra weakly curved from rounded shoulders to a continuous apical margin, surface punctured and uneven between strongly punctured striae, and usually with a pair of dark tubercles beside the scutellum. The elytral scales vary widely in colour but there is never a contrasting white apical band (see Dissoleucas); typically with alternating light and dark patches on the odd-numbered intervals but in some specimens they are entirely pale so that the underlying dark and orange cuticle adds to the pattern. Legs long and slender; tibiae smooth, almost straight and without obvious apical spurs. Tarsi 5-segmented, pseudotetramerous with the diminutive fourth segment hidden by the narrowly-bilobed third segment, and the basal segment slightly shorter than the others combined. Claws with a distinct basal tooth. Males may be distinguished by their longer antennae which exceed the length of the head and pronotum combined.