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Amara
Carabidae overview
Key to genera
Genus Amara Bonelli 1810
Identification:
These are small to medium sized (3.9 - 14.3mm) beetles with broad prothorax and short legs. Head with two supraorbital setigerous punctures dorsomedially to each eye; antennae inserted at sides of head, between eyes and base of mandibles; mandible without a setigerous puncture in scrobe; penultimate labial palpi have three or more setae anteriorly; mentum with median tooth; elytra with more or less angulate, usually dentate shoulders; elytral epipleura clearly crossed; last tarsal segment setose underneath. Amara is a large genus with considerable individual variability displayed by most species. The microsculpture and male genitalia are rather uniform throughout the genus.
Range:
Holarctic with some species in Neotropical and east Asian faunal regions.
Natural History:
Over 100 species occur in North America. Most species are xerophilous, ocurring in open country with sparse vegetation. Adults are herbivorous and are often seen climbing vegetaton in search of fruits and seeds. At TESC examples of this genus have been collected in broadleaf forests and synanthropic habitats.
References:
Kavanaugh, D. H. 1992. Carabid beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Carabidae) of the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences Number 16. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA.
Lindroth, C. H. 1961-1969. The ground beetles (Carabidae excl. Cicindelinae) of Canada and Alaska. Parts 1-6. Opuscula Entomologica xlviii + 1192 pp.
Last updated Tuesday, July 18, 2006, by Administrator
