Taxonomy
Kingdom:	Phylum:	Class:	Order:	Family:	Genus:	Species:
Animalia	Arthropoda	Insecta	Coleoptera	Cerambycidae	Grammoptera	G.ruficornis

Here we have an exceptionally small longhorn beetle. It is a rather dark and not very colourful species which reaches a length of 3 to 7 mm only. From some of the similar dark species it can be distinguished by its ringed antennae. The larvae just live during one year under the bark of moulding and rotting wood. They are found in trees, such as willow and oak and in shrubs, such as blackberries and ivy and even in cultivars such as berberis. The adults are often seen on flowers and frequently encountered on Hawthorn, Dog-rose and Bramble.

This is a common species in Europe, including all of the British Isles, Russia, Turkey and Western Asia.