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Genus Agra
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Adephaga
Family Carabidae (Ground Beetles)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes The classification of the genus Agra is unstable, as it has been treated as a separate tribe or even as a separate subfamily. (1)
Explanation of Names Agra Fabricius, 1801
Numbers 2 spp. of Agra reach southmost Texas (2)
Identification Agra is easy to recognize and is arguably the most distinctive carabid genus found in Texas. (1)
Range The known range in Texas is Cameron, Hidalgo, and Starr counties. (2)
Season Number of compiled Texas collecting events by month:
April (2), May (1), June (6), July (5), August (2), September (2), October (9). (1)
Food Arndt et al. (2001) studied the adult foraging behavior of several species in a Venezuelan forest canopy and in the laboratory. All specimens observed foraging in the canopy took liquid or masticated flower parts (nectar, pollen, and sometimes diverse components of the whole flower), or from extra-floral nectaries, or liquid from new leaf shoots. (Riley & King, 2009)
Based on study of larval morphology, Arndt et al. (2001) hypothesized that Agra larvae are predators living under bark. (1)
Life Cycle Little is know about the way of life of the species of Agra, except that adults are arboreal, many living in the high canopy of tropical evergreen forests; some individuals are attracted to light sources. (Ball & Bousquet 2001)
Print References Arndt, E., S. Kirmse, and T. L. Erwin. 2001. Arboreal beetles of Neotropical forests: Agra Fabricius, larval descriptions with notes on natural history and behaviour (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini, Agrina). The Coleopterists Bulletin 55(3): 297-311. ( JSTOR)
Ball, G.E. & Y. Bousquet. 2001. Carabidae Latreille, 1810, Pp. 32-132, In: Arnett, R.H. and M.C. Thomas (editors). American Beetles, Volume I: Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL. xvi + 443 pp. (3)
Bousquet, Y. and A. Larochelle. 1993. Catalogue of the Geadephaga (Coleoptera: Trachypachidae, Rhysodidae, Carabidae including Cicindelini) of America north of Mexico. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada No. 167: 1-397 pp.
Riley, E.G. & J.E. King. 2009. Element record datasheets submitted to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Wildlife Division, Austin. (1)
Schwarz, E.A. 1896. Semi-tropical Texas. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 4: 1-3. (4)
Townsend, C.H.T. 1902. Contribution to a knowledge of the coleopterous fauna of the lower Rio Grande valley in Texas and Tamaulipas, the biological notes and special reference to geological distribution. Transactions of the Texas Academy of Science 5: 49-101. Full Text
Wickham, H.F. 1898. Recollections of old collecting grounds. II. - The lower Rio Grande Valley. Entomological News 9: 22-24. (5)
Works Cited 4. | Semi-tropical Texas. Schwarz, E.A. 1896. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 4: 1-3. | |
Contributed by Mike Quinn on 27 February, 2009 - 5:22pm Last updated 16 August, 2023 - 2:37pm |
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