Clown beetle

Histeridae is a diverse family of beetles, commonly known as hister beetles or clown beetles. There are over 4,800 described species worldwide. They are typically identified by their shiny, black or metallic-green, compact, and often oval bodies, as well as their characteristic shortened elytra which leave the final one or two abdominal segments exposed. They also possess elbowed, or geniculate, antennae with a clubbed end. These beetles are largely predaceous, feeding on the eggs and larvae of other insects (such as maggots) found in their habitats, which include dung, carrion, decomposing vegetation, and beneath tree bark. When disturbed, they have a defensive behaviour of retracting their appendages into grooves on the underside and playing dead. For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry. Get back to Coleoptera

Lunar-spotted mimic beetle

phylum	Arthropoda	Hister quadrimaculatus is a beetle of the family Histeridae. It is found in Europe. It lives in dung and rotting organic material, as it feeds off of the soft-bodied invertebrates that share the habitat. For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry. Get back to Clown beetles
Class	Insecta
order	Coleoptera
family	Histeridae
genus	Hister
specis	H. quadrimaculatus