A very widespread Palaearctic species known from Europe to Mongolia and the far east of Russia; in Europe it occurs from the Pyrenees to the Balkan Peninsula, extending south into central Italy, and north to the UK and into Northern provinces of Norway, Sweden and Finland. The species occurs from lowlands to middle lower mountain altitudes and is local and rare in western and central areas, becoming more common in the north and east. In the UK it is widespread though very local and generally rare throughout England, Wales, Southern and Central Scotland and Ireland. The typical habitat is deciduous and mixed woodland where it is associated with a range of broadleaf trees, especially oaks, and much less frequently various conifers, but it is sometimes recorded from compost and rubbish-heaps in a range of situations. Adults occur throughout the year; they are active from March until late in the autumn and they peak in abundance during May and June. Mating occurs mostly in the spring but pairs may sometimes occur in the autumn, eggs are laid under bark or in decaying wood and larvae develop through the summer. Both adults and larvae are probably saprophagous or detritivores, but larvae are sometimes quoted as predatory on early stages of other saproxylic beetles as they often occur in bark beetle galleries. Adults occur under bark, often low down on trunks or even among the roots, among fungi or at sap, they are mainly nocturnal and they fly well, sometimes occurring in flight-interception traps. They overwinter among moss or litter about the base of old trees but may appear under damp and loose bark during mild spells, they rarely occur in numbers and sometimes among other more common members of the genus.