Grave beetles
| Grave beetles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Metallic burial beetle ( Pterostichus burmeisteri ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pterostichus | ||||||||||||
| Bonelli , 1810 |
The grave beetles ( Pterostichus ) represent a genus of beetles within the family of ground beetles (Carabidae). In Central Europe there are 57 species, in Germany there are 35.
features
The beetles are a few to 20 millimeters long. They are mostly inconspicuously black in color. Like the other species of the subfamily, they have two bristles on the penultimate limb of the labial palps , and two supraorbital bristles are found on the edge of the eye. In the males, the first three tarsal links of the front legs are widened. The first three segments of the antennae are also cylindrical in shape without a sharp edge, which makes it easy to distinguish the genus from the species of the genus Poecilus , in which at least the second and third antennae are compressed and each has a sharp edge on top. The cover wings have at least one dented pore, which is often difficult to see, in the third space or on the third strip. The epipleurs are crossed in front of the tip. The thigh rings (trochanters) of the hind legs are about half as long as the thighs (femora).
Occurrence
The animals are widespread and prefer humid areas such as wet meadows, banks of water and forests. They occur from low altitudes up to the mountains, but numerous species only live in the high mountains. The animals can be found under stones or in the ground from March to October.
Way of life
The nocturnal adults and their larvae feed predatory. The larvae develop in the ground. In some species there is strong brood care . The females build small caves with smooth walls under stones or dead wood in which they lay around 20 eggs. The female remains in this cave until the larvae hatch, but neither the eggs nor the larvae are defended from predators. After pupation, the beetles usually hatch in September and also overwinter.
Types (selection)
- Black burial beetle ( Pterostichus aethiops ) (tank, 1797)
- Cabbage black grave runner ( Pterostichus anthracinus ) (Illiger, 1798)
- Pterostichus aterrimus (autumn, 1784)
- Metallic grave beetle ( Pterostichus burmeisteri ) Heer, 1841
- Mountain forest grave beetle ( Pterostichus cognatus ) (Dejean, 1831)
- Pterostichus diligens (Sturm, 1824)
- Pterostichus elongatus (Duftschmid, 1812)
- Pterostichus fasciatopunctatus (Creutzer, 1799)
- Pterostichus gracilis (Dejean, 1828)
- Pterostichus macer (Marsham, 1802)
- Pterostichus madidus (Fabricius, 1775)
- Common burial beetle ( Pterostichus melanarius ) (Illiger, 1798)
- Pterostichus melas (Creutzer, 1799)
- Small grave beetle ( Pterostichus minor ) (Gyllenhal, 1827)
- Eastern Alps grave beetle ( Pterostichus muehlfeldi ) (Duftschmid, 1812)
- Large grave beetle ( Pterostichus niger ) (Schaller, 1783)
- Blackish grave beetle ( Pterostichus nigrita ) (Paykull, 1790)
- True shoulder runner ( Pterostichus oblongopunctatus ) (Fabricius, 1787)
- Pterostichus ovoideus (Sturm, 1824)
- Pterostichus quadrifoveolatus Letzner, 1852
- Pterostichus rhaeticus Heer, 1837
- Pterostichus strictuus (tank, 1797)
- Pterostichus unctulatus (Duftschmid, 1812)
- Spring burial beetle ( Pterostichus vernalis ) (carapace, 1796)
- Pterostichus ziegleri (Duftschmid, 1812)
literature
- Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung, Jarmila Hoberlandtova, Ivan Zpevak: Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe . Parey Berlin, 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1
- Ekkehard Wachmann , Ralph Platen, Dieter Barndt: Ground beetles - observation, way of life , Naturbuch-Verlag Augsburg, 1995, ISBN 3-89440-125-7
- Matthias Schaefer: Brohmer, Fauna von Deutschland: an identification book of our domestic animal world . 21st edition, Quelle & Meyer Verlag Wiebelsheim, 2002, ISBN 3-494-01326-8
