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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Adephaga » Ground Beetles (Carabidae) » Scaritinae » Scaritini » Scarites » Big-headed Ground Beetle (Scarites subterraneus)
Photo#13738
Big-headed Ground Beetle - Scarites subterraneus
Copyright © 2005 tom murray

Big-headed Ground Beetle - Scarites subterraneus
Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
September 22, 2004
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Contributed by tom murray on 27 March, 2005 - 6:16pm
Last updated 21 January, 2018 - 7:59pm

Moved
Moved from Scarites.
… v belov, 27 June, 2009 - 11:33pm login or register to post comments

Scarites species
You didn't mention how you ruled out Scarites quadriceps in determining this was S. subterraneus, so I assume your ID was based on other photos in the Guide, on the Internet, or in a field guide.

In some areas, such as North Carolina, S. subterraneus appears to be more common than S. quadriceps; in other areas, such as Michigan, the situation seems to be reversed, as shown in this PDF doc, where quadriceps is several times more numerous than subterraneus. Both species occur together throughout the northeastern US and southern Ontario.

Until we can distinguish one from the other, I think it's wiser to leave all Scarites beetles at the genus level.
… Robin McLeod, 28 March, 2005 - 12:51am login or register to post comments

 
Scarites species
I did use the pictures in this guide as an identifier. It looked like a good match, but I didn't realize there was also S. quadriceps. Is there a distinguishing feature, and can they be determined from a picture ? Thanks for the info.
… tom murray, 28 March, 2005 - 6:33am login or register to post comments

 
Scarites species
I don't know whether the two can be distinguished from photos, but if so, nobody here has explained how. Patrick considered the idea here of moving all Scarites images to the genus level, which I think is the safest action at the moment. Otherwise, we may be creating or perpetuating the idea that "all Scarites species are subterraneus" - obviously a myth. So I'll be moving the images shortly.
… Robin McLeod, 28 March, 2005 - 11:33am login or register to post comments

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