Beetle ID please

[mikebriggs]

Can anyone ID this beetle for me please. They are very plentiful around here but I can't find it in my books. This one was found dead on the lawn, but they can be found almost anywhere from down by the shore to up in the hills. Loads get crushed on the road. They are a beautiful irridescent greenish bronze, which doesn't really show in this example as it has been sitting around in my study gathering dust.

[Jason Claxton]

Hi Mike

By appearances it looks like it could be Carabus clathratus.It is not one that I have seen though.


Jason.

[mikebriggs]

Thanks, Jason. I think you are spot on. Strange it is not in any of my books.

[Klaas Reißmann]

Hi Mike,

Carabus clathratus is bound to water, normally smaler ponds in heath- or moorareas, but even at the coast in ponds and lakes with lots of reed and similar. so if you really find them everywhere, they must be moving around a lot, which is fairly uncommon. And the most interresting part of this beetle is, that it is hunting for its prey under water, not on the landside.

Maybe you can take a number of photos of different specimen to have a look, if you don't mix them with the common Carabus granulatus or maybe Carabus cancellatus, because Carabus clathratus is a more or less rare species.

If you find some death beetles, I would be interrested in those. So let me know.

Regards
Klaas

[Paul mabbott]

To me it looks like Carabus clatratus (note the revised spelling!) which is very localised in British Isles - NW Scotland and Ireland.
C. granulatus is a possibility but that is narrower with more delicate surface sculpting, I think. C. cancellatus is not an established British species.

[mikebriggs]

Many thanks for all your input. Klaas, the reason why we find this beetle everywhere here is that it is wet everywhere! Even in the so-called "summer" the ground is waterlogged in most places, even on steep hills. The only parts that are reasonably dry are the sandy areas beside the sea and I have not seen this beetle there.

I am pretty sure I have not confused this with other similar species as it seems to match exactly what I have seen on the carabusonline.co.uk site, although it says there it is "found in the following countries: Ukraine, Switzerland, Russia, Poland, Netherlands, Japan, Germany, China & Belgium" and doesn't inlcude Scotland. Well, it will have to now. If you would like this dead beetle let me know and I will send it to you.

[Jason Claxton]

Hi Mike

Have a look at the map on the sometimes helpful NBN gateway,there are records near to you and further around you...my book has this as "clathratus , but the NBN site gives the correct spelling as "clatratus",both are circulating out there though,any idea if it is a typo or has it been changed along the line?

Cheers,Jason

[mikebriggs]

Thanks, Jason. I've had a look. Glad to know I haven't got an alien species here.

[Paul mabbott]

It's one of those cases where beast was given two names a century or so back but the earliest one was overlooked. It may or may not have been a misspelling but that commonly doesn't matter in animal nomenclature! It was Linnaeus himself who coined the name as 'clatratus' - it may have been that some subsequent worker thought this was a misspelling and so 'corrected' it! Anyway, it was known as clathratus for years but Luff has corrected it to clatratus which is the name to use now .... until someone finds an earlier name

Originally Posted by Jason Claxton

.........my book has this as "clathratus , but the NBN site gives the correct spelling as "clatratus",both are circulating out there though,any idea if it is a typo or has it been changed along the line?

Cheers,Jason

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by mikebriggs

........ Strange it is not in any of my books.

If in doubts about names (or a species goes awol) then check the revised British List on The Coleopterist - this gives the currently accepted name and earlier ones.