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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Adephaga » Ground Beetles (Carabidae) » Harpalinae » Pterostichitae » Woodland Ground Beetles (Pterostichini) » Pterostichus » Subgenus Hypherpes (Pterostichus Subgenus Hypherpes)
Photo#116521
Unidentified Beetle - Pterostichus
Copyright © 2007 Matt Goff

Unidentified Beetle - Pterostichus
Sitka, Alaska, USA
June 2, 2007
Size: <2cm
I found this beetle, and several others like it, crawling for cover underneath a piece of plastic in a place I had used as part of a garden last year (the plastic had remained unmoved through winter).

Any help would be appreciated.

Additional photos (including a close up top view of the head) can be seen at:
http://www.sitkanature.org/1000species/?p=81
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Matt Goff on 8 June, 2007 - 1:32am
Last updated 10 November, 2010 - 1:49pm

Pterostichus
looks like this fella is a common species in the UK, i found this post by looking for foodstuff for a injured one that i found in my house, not injured enough to die, but ill see how it is in a few days - got to start being nice to stuff havent we lol, anyway.... they love strawberries, cut one open and watch it/them be happy :)

PS its predatory so will control mites etc - they do like strawberries though. pls dont be so tough on them.
… Scorcher_UK, 20 June, 2016 - 1:46pm login or register to post comments

Pterostichus Subg. Hypherpes
Moved from Pterostichus.
… Tim Loh, 10 November, 2010 - 1:49pm login or register to post comments

Ground beetle
Dear Matt,
this is a Carabidae of the genus Pterostichus. It is very rich in species, so I unfortunately can´t tell more precisely. I guess, it can be figured out by someone else who has a key for them - there should not be too many species in Alaska.

by the way: Size in insects is generally given as body length, or wingspan (in butterflies), so does not include antennae etc. Your beetle seems to measure 12-13 mm.
… Boris Büche, 8 June, 2007 - 4:16am login or register to post comments

 
rich is right!
187 species in North America listed at nearctica.com, and "only" 35 species listed for Alaska. These are scattered among several subgenera in a list that is 16 years old; maybe some of the names or their placements have changed since then (?).
… Robin McLeod, 8 June, 2007 - 8:24pm login or register to post comments

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