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Based on reared material, all the immature stages of Emus hirtus (Linnaeus, 1758) are described. This is an especially interesting species of rove beetle because it looks very striking, hunts dung-inhabiting insects, has a patchy distribution and is a protected species in some countries. Descriptions are supplemented by a few field and laboratory-based observations on adult and larval behaviour and development. Since the phylogeny of the diverse subtribe Staphylinina is poorly known, all available information on the immature stages of the species in this subtribe was summarized and their phylogenetic utility evaluated. Data on Emus and other genera with known immature stages, even though highly fragmentary, reveal a phylogenetic signal in the larval and pupal morphology. They support the Creophilus- Ocypus- and Platydracus-groups as lineages hitherto only based on the morphology of adults and molecular data.