Carabid - Pterostichus pensylvanicus

Moved

Moved from adstrictus group.
This tiny island was a mixture of oak and spruce, incidentally, so the habitat might not help much in this case.

… Charley Eiseman, 24 March, 2015 - 8:36pm

Moved

Moved from Pterostichus.

… Charley Eiseman, 24 March, 2015 - 7:12pm

adstrictus group

So it's either pennsylvan*icus or adstrict*us, but apparently you need to count clip setae to separate them using external characters.

… Curt Harden, 24 March, 2015 - 5:39pm

So true!

But let me hazard a safe guess. Between the two this has got to be P. pensylvanicus as the habitus is not slim enough to be adstrictus in my opinion. Latter also prefers coniferous habitats from my recollection. Cup of one "n" please. Oddly, adstrictus does not have Maine status per Bousquet (2012). Incidentally, today I learned that the Thrasher has over 1000 bird calls/songs. A record for North America perhaps. Sings in series of distinct doublets. But I digress.

… Peter W. Messer, 24 March, 2015 - 8:25pm

Good to know!

Thanks for the further hint. Of the two, I've only seen pensylvanicus in person, so I haven't learned the comparative subtleties.
I do see adstrictus listed for Maine(ME) in the 2012 catalogue, though.

Funny, I too was reminded of the Thrasher's ridiculous song repertoire this past weekend; my girlfriend and I were listening to bird song recordings on a long drive. The Thrasher track definitely got our attention.

… Curt Harden, 24 March, 2015 - 9:59pm

Yes, P. adstrictus indeed in ME.

A rare oversight by this overlooker!

… Peter W. Messer, 25 March, 2015 - 11:53am

Moved

Moved from Ground Beetles.

… Charley Eiseman, 2 December, 2012 - 8:19pm

Selenophorus sp.?

Row of setal punctures in third elytral interval suggest Selenophorus sp. I'm not entirely convinced, however, as the habitus suggests something more akin to Pterostichus.

… Brad Barnd, 24 July, 2012 - 11:16pm

Begin search with Pterostichus pensylvanicus

which has foveate (large) punctures in 2nd & 3rd elytral striae. You are right Brad -- habitus is nothing like any Selenophorus I know. Posted body length would have been useful. I have some individual of P. pensylvanicus which show brownish elytra (as in image) which contrast with darker forebody.

… Peter W. Messer, 2 December, 2012 - 7:28pm

Size added

Thanks for the reminder. I estimate the body length to be 11 mm.

… Charley Eiseman, 2 December, 2012 - 7:49pm

Thanks,

that's consistent with mid-sized Pterostichus.

… Peter W. Messer, 2 December, 2012 - 8:16pm