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Old 12-02-2008, 02:27 PM
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paul m paul m is online now
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Location: Sheffield, South Yorks, UK
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Okay, the first one is certainly an Amara (they mainly have the overall egg-shaped body. The sharp nicks at the back of the forebody are seen only on a few species of which A. aenea is one of the most common, particularly in urban habitats.

The second may well be a Harpalus - chunky, thickset legs and body but there are many of these and there's not enough detail to speculate.

The greenish beetle, at that size, is certainly a Poecilus (they have been split from Pterostichus by most authorities) of which P. cupreus is the most common in UK and probably NW Europe?

They don't cause leaf mines but, although most carabids are omnivores but mainly predatory, Amara species tend to be herbivorous as larvae (feeding on roots) but predatory as imagines. Harpalus, unusually, are plant-eaters in both life stages. Indeed, some species of Harpalus may become pests in strawberry crops!

Quote:
Originally Posted by paul m View Post
Me and my mouth!
I'm just off for a couple of days but first thoughts:

The first one is surely an Amara sp, quite likely A. aenea - I think there may be enough information on the picture to key it!

The second is probably a Harpalus sp but I'll need to give that more thought.

The third 'Pterostichus', was it more than 10mm long? In which case Pterostichus such as P. cupreus is quite likely.

These are all ground beetles (Carabidae).

Bye for now!
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