Lepidocyrtus violaceus belongs to the group of Lepidocyrtus with strong blue pigment on the head, thorax, abdomen and legs. The second thoracic segment is not prominent (Fig. 1). There are scales on the legs and on the first (ant1) and second (ant2) segments of the antennae, but NOT on ant3 and ant4 (Fig. 2). The largest specimen I have seen was 2.0 mm in length from Ireland, although the longest English specimen was only 1.6 mm.
     Lepidocyrtus violaceus may be more common than indicated on the map as it has probably been overlooked in the past. Some of the slides in the NHML collection labelled 'Lepidocyrtus cyaneus' have scales on the legs and antennae and are clearly Lepidocyrtus violaceus.

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Fig. 1 (above): Lepidocyrtus violaceus (1.3 mm in length) from New Milton, Hants. collected in June 1987 by M.N. Wetton.

Fig. 2 (above): Scales (s) on the second antennal segment (ant2) of the same specimen of Lepidocyrtus violaceus shown in Fig. 1). There are no scales on the third antennal segment (ant3).