Pit beetle
| Pit beetle | ||||||||||||
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Pit beetle ( Carabus variolosus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Carabus variolosus | ||||||||||||
| Fabricius , 1787 |
The pit beetle ( Carabus variolosus ) is a species of the real ground beetle ( Carabus ).
features
The pit beetle reaches a body length of 20 to 33 millimeters and is one of the largest species of beetle in Europe. Its body is completely black and slightly shiny. The wing covers ( elytres ) and the pronotum are conspicuously provided with large and deep pits, which means that there is no risk of confusion with other ground beetle species. As further characteristics that characterize the species, there are bristle-bearing throat points and the side edge of the wing covers has some fine, saw-like notches in the front area.
distribution
The beetle is found only very rarely and is now almost exclusively found in south-eastern Central Europe and Southeastern Europe. It used to be found in the low mountain ranges of northern Central Europe, but is mostly extinct there. The occurrences of Central Europe belong to their own subspecies ( C. variolosus nodulosus , picture), which some authors also regard as a separate species. The nominate form ( C. variolosus variolosus ) is found in Eastern Europe.
Way of life
The pit beetle is very well adapted to humid habitats in the forest and accordingly occurs mainly in swamp forests and spring swamps and on the banks of forest streams. There he winters in rotten dead wood .
Similar to the shore ground beetle ( Carabus clatratus ), it also hunts underwater for snails, small crabs, insects and their larvae, tadpoles and small fish. It creates a fresh air supply under the wing covers. The larvae are also able to hunt underwater and feed on water beetle larvae.
Hazard and protection
Since the beetle is very strongly tied to moist forest habitats, it is endangered and pushed back primarily by the decline and drainage of wetlands. As a result, it is regionally rare and is nationally placed under nature protection in many European countries. Since the EU's eastward expansion, it has also been listed in Appendix II of the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive (FFH-RL), so that the member states of the EU must designate protected areas for it.
supporting documents
literature
- Ekkehard Wachmann , Ralph Platen, Dieter Barndt: Ground beetles - observation, way of life . Naturbuch Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-125-7 .
- Stefan Müller-Kroehling (2006): Is the pit beetle Carabus (variolosus) nodulosus a taxon of Annex II of the Habitats Directive in Germany? Forest ecology online 3: pp. 57–62.
Web links
- Edmund Reitter: Fauna Germanica. The beetles of the German Empire. Stuttgart: KG Lutz, 1908; Volume 1, Page 80 ( full text edition )
- Müller-Kroehling, S. (2006): Is the pit beetle Carabus (variolosus) nodulosus a taxon of Annex II of the Habitats Directive in Germany? Forest Ecology Online 3: 57-62. online: ( PDF )