Ordinary blade runner
| Ordinary blade runner | ||||||||||||
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Common blade |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Cychrus caraboides | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
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The common shovel runner or grainy shovel runner ( Cychrus caraboides ) is a ground beetle from the family of ground beetles (Carabidae).
features
The beetles are 12.5 to 20 millimeters long and have a particularly elongated head. The pronotum is narrower than it is long, the finely longitudinally wrinkled wings are oval shaped and tapering to a point. The epipleurs are very broad. The animals have a completely black colored body, which in contrast to the narrow shovel runner ( Cychrus attenuatus ) shines less noticeably. There are subspecies that are either more compact and shiny ( C. attenuatus caraboides ) or more elongated and duller colored ( C. attenuatus rostratus ).
Occurrence
The species occurs in Europe from northern Spain through southern Italy to the Balkans , in the north to beyond the Arctic Circle . It lives in and around moist forests and on the edge of mountain meadows, both in the plains and at heights of up to 2,000 meters. It can be found frequently.
Way of life
The nocturnal adults feed mainly on snails but also on worms, other small animals and carrion . In the case of shell snails, they can penetrate far into the shell due to their narrow front body. During the day they hide under bark, dead wood, stones or moss. Hibernation can take place both as a larva and as an adult. The beetles usually hatch in late summer and then hibernate under moss, dead wood or bark.
literature
- Karl Wilhelm Harde, Frantisek Severa and Edwin Möhn: The Kosmos Käferführer: The Central European Beetles. Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co KG, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-06959-1 .
- Jiří Zahradník : Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe. An identification book for biologists and nature lovers. Parey, Hamburg et al. 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1 .
