Sphodrine dreams

In the last post I mentioned that I'd been to a Carabid course at the BENHS Dinton Pastures. While there I was looking at some of the drawers of the carabids that they hold in their collection. As I was looking I came across some specimens of a rather large carabid that I didn't immediately recognise. It was also sat taxonomically in a place that confused me, between Calathus and Laemostenus. 

I'm not sure how I'd missed these whilst reading the various books I have on beetles but this one had oddly slipped through. The genus Sphodrus.

I asked Mark Telfer about them, and their story, what little there is of it, is rather fascinating. Sphodrus leucopthalmus probably originates in the Near East and spread as "civilisation" did. It was found in cellars and other dark and damp places such as outdoor buildings where it apparently preyed on the Blaps spp. that also frequented this habitat. Both species were highly dependent on places created by pre-modern man.

Over the last couple of hundred of years but especially in the last 50 or 60, Blaps mucronota populations have crashed as the places they once were found have been lost. Cellars have, for the majority of houses been lost and most out buildings have gone or are just generally tidier; watertight with concrete floors.

The impressive predator that is Sphodrus leucopthalmus hasn't been seen in the UK since the late 70s/early 80s and has apparently also had a similar crash across all its former range.

Is it now extinct in the UK or does it hang on quietly in a cellar or barn-complex remnant somewhere? Presumably, where reasonably-sized populations of Blaps still exist there is a possibility that Sphodrus does too.

I have to admit to being fascinated by this story. Its has special resonance as I still have Blaps living under the house, occasionally appearing in the kitchen late at night to feed on scraps of food. I wonder if in the distant past there were Sphodrus there too?

We are family....

I've been sorting through a few Tenebrionidae recently. It is a varied family, with 47 species on the UK list.

I have one of the largest species, Blaps mucronota living under the kitchen floor boards. The one pictured here I found dead one morning.  Looking at it more closely, you can see that their eyes are an odd shape, rather slit like. Would love to know the adaptive significance of them.

This Crypticus quisquillus was found on a path on the Essex coast and was a new one for me. It's a rather smart little beetle at only 6mm.

The one that I find most often and usually think is an Amara before I pick it up and have a closer look  to count the tarsal segments (5-5-4) is Nalassus laevioctostriatus. I often find it turning bits of rotten wood or heather on heathland but it does occur in other habitats too.

Phaleria cadaverina is found in coastal locations around England. This one I found under driftwood on the Gower in South Wales. It's forelegs appear to be adapted for digging and burrowing.

Tenebrio molitor is a fairly common and the larva are often used to feed pet amphibians and reptiles. It's often found near human habitation - this one was in my garden - and moves rather slowly making it easy to pick up. Common they may be but they are a really subtly beautiful beetle when you see them up close.

Isomira murina are also really common and vary a bit in colour. This one is a particularly dark individual. The elytra are usually browner in colour.

The shapes vary a bit and when you take into account other species like Diaperis boleti and Pseudocistela ceramboides it really is a very varied family indeed.

Long time no see

When we first moved into our house in 2011, I would occasionally find myself in the kitchen in the middle of the night. Along with mice and slugs the other nocturnal residents included a few Cellar or Churchyard Beetles Blaps mucronata. We subsequently gutted and renovated the property and whilst I still see the occasional slug and mouse I'd not seen a Cellar Beetle again until this morning.

I think they they are our biggest tenebrioid beetle and they are very distinctive with pointed ends to their elytra. They used to be fairly common in homes where they would live below floorboards and scavenge any crumbs which fell through the gaps (which is exactly what they do in my house). But they have apparently declined quite drastically in recent decades.

So nice to see that they cling on in this part of Cambridgeshire.