Rhantus frontalis is not as widespread as the Supertramp beetle Rhantus suturalis, and in England it is restricted in its distribution (Foster & Friday, 2009). ( but is common in the south-west of In the Netherlands it is only common in the South West and along the coast, but is rare inland (van Nieukerken, 1992). This 10.4 mm large specimen was found more central, in a swampy ditch near the Ramspol Bridge north of Kampen, which lies close to the IJsselmeer.

The spots on the pronotum are clearly visible in this photo. Characteristic is the larger central spot between the two somewhat crooked spots. R. suturalis only has a (sometimes somewhat faint) diamond-shaped spot in the middle of the pronotum. Other features visible here are the antennae (feelers) that have dark terminal tips and the light lines (without the dots) over the elytra (Foster & Friday, 2009).

The beetle has squeezed out some of the air from under the elytra, creating an air bubble. In the picture below, much more. More about this behavior on this page about R. suturalis.

Click on the images below to see more photos of Rhantus beetles.

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