Ground beetle  (Bembidion nigropiceum)

Bembidion nigropiceum

Facts

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Coleoptera
Family Carabidae
Genus Bembidion (1)
Size Length: less than 7.5 mm (2)

Status

Classified as Nationally Scarce in Great Britain (3).

Description

Unlike many members of the Bembidion genus, the largest genus of ground beetles in Britain, this blackish ground beetle does not have a metallic sheen (2). It is small, flattened and rather parallel-sided compared to other Bembidion species (4).

Range

Found around the coast of southern Britain between Kent and Pembrokeshire. Elsewhere it occurs in Europe on the Mediterranean coast and along the English Channel (3).

Habitat

This species dwells on shingle and coarse sand beaches, or amongst rubble at the base of coastal cliffs (3). It can be found under rocks near the high-water mark (5).

Biology

This ground beetle has an annual life cycle (it takes a year to complete); larvae are present in summer, the adults hibernate through the winter and emerge the following spring, when they are believed to breed (3); they are seen between March and June (5). Both the adults and larvae are predatory, taking small insects. It is thought that this species spends much of its time below ground (3) and is often found deep within shingle (4).

Threats

Development along the coast, as well as costal sea-defences are thought to represent the main threats facing the species (3). Marine pollution is a possible further threat (5).

Conservation

As a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species, a Species Action Plan has been published for this beetle, which aims to maintain the current range of the species. At a number of known sites, this species occurs within Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) or National Nature Reserves (NNRs), and therefore receives a degree of legal protection (3). Furthermore, English Nature has incorporated Bembidion nigropiceum in its Species Recovery Programme.

The UK Biodiversity Action Plan for this species is available at UK Biodiversity Action Plan

Further Information

For more on English Nature's Species Recovery Programme see:
http://www.english-nature.org.uk/science/srp/default.asp

Authentication

Information authenticated by Dr Martin Luff of the School of Biology, University of Newcastle, with the support of the British Ecological Society:
http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/

Glossary

Hibernate: a winter survival strategy characteristic of some mammals in which an animal's metabolic rate slows down and a state of deep sleep is attained. Whilst hibernating, animals survive on stored reserves of fat that they have accumulated in summer. In insects, the correct term for hibernation is 'diapause', a temporary pause in development and growth. Any stage of the lifecycle (eggs, larvae, pupae or adults) may enter diapause, which is typically associated with winter.
Larvae: stage in an animal's lifecycle after it hatches from the egg. Larvae are typically very different in appearance to adults; they are able to feed and move around but usually are unable to reproduce.

References

  1. National Biodiversity Network Species Dictionary (September 2002)
    http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nbn
  2. Lindroth, C. H. (1974) Handbooks for the identification of British insects. Volume IV. Part 2: Coleoptera, Carabidae. The Royal Entomological Society of London, London.
  3. UKBAP Species Action Plan. (September 2002)
    http://www.ukbap.org.uk
  4. Luff, M. (2004) Pers. comm.
  5. Hymen, P. S. and Parsons, M.S. (1992) A review of the scarce and threatened Coleoptera of Great Britain: Part 1. JNCC, Peterborough.