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Scaphinotus angusticollis
Carabidae overview >> Scaphinotus overview
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Identification:
Large, dull black beetles with brownish ventral sides, forebody usually with a faint greenish or bluish lustre. Elytra with velvety appearance, varying from rusty red to almost black, with vividly greenish margins; legs long and slender with the hind femora reaching or exceeding the abdominal apex; male protarsi with three dilated segments.
Range:
Western species occurring from San Francisco region to Kodiak Island and the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. Occurs east of the coast ranges only in southern British Columbia and to eastern slope of the Cascade Range of Washington and Oregon.
Natural History:
A woodland species restricted to "Vancouverian" forested regions. Found under bark and moss of dead, standing or fallen trees. This species is primarily nocturnal but can be found actively foraging by day. Adults may forage in forest canopy at night. Dispersing adults may be found above tree line and near sea breaches. Adults are brachypterous and incapable of flight. Dispersal mechanisms include logs or branches which are carried by moving water. Hibernation occurs in more than one stage of development. S. angusticollis is the most common species on campus.
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 Friday, July 21, 2006, by Lisa Ferrier
