Carabidae

COLEOPTERA > ADEPHAGA > Carabidae > Carabinae

This Carabinae subfamily continuation page covers the remaining species that I've managed to photograph.  

Prussian Plate-jaw [Leistus spinibarbis]

Medium-sized, 8-11mm, long-legged beetle with a somewhat flattened body that, in good light, has a strong metallic bluish reflection; pronotum wide and rounded with sharp hind angles; elytra abruptly widens behind the shoulders; legs mid brown with dark brown to black femora.

Amara cf.ovata

Medium-sized, 8-10mm, oval-bodied, shiny black species with brassy-coloured reflections. The pronotum is evenly rounded in front of the hind angles and is as wide as the elytra. This is a large genus with 27 British species, many of which are rather similar. I could not have identified this particular individual without help and, even with an expert's opinion, the identity is not certain. It is likely Amara ovata, but that species is extremely similar to Amara similata and not dissimilar to Amara montivaga.

Strawberry Seed Beetle [Harpalus rufipes]

Medium to large, 11-16mm, black beetle with reddish-brown appendages, and with a pronotum that has rounded sides and slightly acute hind angles. The elytra have a dull appearance compared with the somewhat shiny head and pronotum and, when seen from the right angle, show short golden pubescence primarily at the rear.

Anchomenus dorsalis

A relatively small, 6-8mm, unmistakable and unusually colourful ground beetle with a metallic green head and pronotum, and reddish-brown elytra with a large blue-green central patch towards the rear. The appendages are pale brown.  

Platynus assimilis

Medium-sized, 9-12.5mm, species with a shining black body and mid to dark brown appendages; pronotum transverse; elytra wide.

Calathus rotundicollis

Medium-sized, 8-11mm, uniformly dark brown to black species with paler reddish-brown legs and antennae, and with a pronotum that has flattened and rounded hind angles and a base that's narrower than the elytral shoulder width. The elytra are ridged with unpunctured striae, but with the third interval having four or five punctures that usually touch the third stria. They can be tricky to identify from photos.

Green Night Runner [Chlaenius nigricornis]

Medium-sized, 10-12mm, bright metallic, generally green-coloured, but variable species with a typically reddish-coppery pronotum and elytra. The typical form has black legs, but there is another form [var.melanocornis] as this individual, that has reddish-brown legs with black or dark brown tarsi. This particular species favours damp grasslands and lowland marshes, so it may seem strange that it was photographed on a dry heath during the day, except that it was in close proximity to a permanent pool come cattle water-hole.

There are definitely a few more carabids that I'd like to find, such as the Copper Peacock [Elaphrus cupreus] that I described on one of the previous pages, and perhaps some of the more localised beetles, for example Lebia chlorocephala or Panagaeus cruxmajor, but for now I'm quite content to let the list slowly evolve over time.

Updated, April 26 (v.4)