Ever since I first started finding and identifying beetles there has been one particular species that I have wanted to see. Actually that's not quite true, in reality there are loads of species I want to see but this particular one did get lodged somewhere in my head at the very start of my beetling odyssey.
It is the oddest of the carabids and looks more like a water beetle than a ground beetle. The species in question in Omophron limbatum aka the Spangled Button-beetle. It inhabits sandy shores of lakes and pools, especially recently worked sand pits, which is where I was looking for it in Norfolk this week.. It's mainly nocturnal but you can coax it out with a simple technique.
Splash some water on to the sand.
Then wait and watch for the beetles running up the sand as they think they are being flooded.
They are amazing looking things and are constantly on the move before burrowing back into the sand when they think they have escaped the danger.
This one paused to catch its breath briefly before haring up the sand. In total there must have been 50-70 of these beetles in quite a small area, but they stuck to the exposed sandy margins in direct sunlight and were absent from vegetated or heavily shaded patches.
Omophron limbatum was first discovered in the UK in East Sussex, in 1969 and since then appears to be spreading; there are now records from several coastal localities in Kent and a few inland from Norfolk, where these were, and Suffolk.
Post title inspiration comes from the Sugababes, in what I think was there 2nd iteration. It's a classic bit of pop.
No comments:
Post a Comment