SitkaNature: 1000 Species Project

European Ground Beetle
Carabus nemoralis

Rowan discovered this beetle under a rock. Even after chilling, this beetle didn’t really slow down, so it was tough to get pictures of. I think I’m going to have to switch to a smaller container. As the name implies, this species has been introduced from Europe as a biological control. I’m not sure what it eats, but I would guess one of the pests it targets is slugs.

Leaf Beetle
Syneta sp.

I noticed this beetle crawling on my pants when I sat down for a break. I managed to get a couple of shots of it before it flew away. It looks like it’s probably the same beetle species I noticed last summer on top of Verstovia.

Thanks to Rob W. via bugguide.net, I have a genus for this beetle

Beach Green Bug

Until I get a better name for this species, I will name it after the plants I saw it growing on. I think this is a true bug, but I have no idea where to go from there. There were several of them on the leaves of the Beach Greens and Cleavers. They would duck under the leaves if I approached too close, but before too long they would be back on top soaking up the sun. A couple of times I saw a couple of them apparently get a little aggressive toward each other, but I’m not really sure if it was aggression or something else.

As always, any help with identification would be appreciated.

Unidentified Beetle
Scaphinotus sp.

I noticed this beetle crawling for cover when I lifted up a piece of plastic in the backyard. The plastic had been there since last summer. This was the only one I noticed with the iridescent edging. It caught my eye. The mouth parts look pretty intimidating close up.

Thanks to the helpful comments here and at bugguide.net, I now know the genus. It does not appear to be the same as Scaphinotus angusticollis, which I believe is pretty common around here. I am not sure what species it is. An on-line Canadian reference with the Ground Beetles of British Columbia lists six other species in the genus, so I am guessing it’s one of those.

Unidentified Beetle
Pterostichus sp.

I found this beetle, and several others like it, scurrying to find cover when I lifted up a piece of plastic in the backyard. It definitely seemed to like burrowing down in the dirt to get away.

Any help with identification of this beetle would be appreciated.

Thanks to the helpful folks at bugguide.net, I know the genus of this beetle. However, it was also mentioned that Alaska has 35 species in this genus. Perhaps at a later date, the species can be determined, but for now, I’ll be happy with just the genus.