small White Sands beetle

may also be . . .

an Amara sp. of subgenus Celia or Bradytus. Decision impossible by this photo.

… Boris Büche, 21 December, 2006 - 5:10am

It's a ground beetle

Family Carabidae, subfamily Harpalinae, tribe Harpalini I would say.

You did better than I did in my vist there last December. All I saw were a few beetle tracks from the night before.

… Jim McClarin, 19 February, 2006 - 5:34pm

Thanks!

Interesting; there are no members of Harpalini on the only list I know of for White Sands insects (a paper from C.P. Stroud, 1950). In the warmer months there seem to be a good number of insects wandering around out there, but this is the first time I've looked when it's cold. There's a grad student here doing work on camel crickets, so he wanted to see if they're out yet... they are, but not many of them.

Patrick Alexander
http://boechera.nmsu.edu/~paalexan/

… Patrick Alexander, 19 February, 2006 - 6:05pm

Just a guess.

I'm really rather uneducated in beetle taxonomy. I feel more confident in subfamily.

Carabids are not very speciose in desert areas, being largely replaced (from an eastern US standpoint) by the darkling beetles, which can better retain their moisture.

… Jim McClarin, 19 February, 2006 - 6:19pm

Well...

The only two genera listed at White Sands by Stroud are Bembidion & Diplochaetus, both in Trechinae... this guy doesn't look like any of the trechines on here, but sure does look like Harpalus. *shrug*

Patrick Alexander
http://boechera.nmsu.edu/~paalexan/

… Patrick Alexander, 19 February, 2006 - 6:36pm