Ground Beetles of Ireland
Elaphrus cupreus
| Click on the image to enlarge it in a new window | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 © Roy Anderson |
 Click on map to enlarge it in a new window (Maps updated 30th November 2009) |
||
Elaphrus cupreus Duftschmidt, 1812
Description: Bronze, fairly shiny, ground beetle with conspicuous purple ocellate depressions on the elytra (8-9.5mm). Common in marshland and on bare mud at the side of fresh water.
World Distribution: A Eurasian Boreo-temperate species (55), widespread and common across northern and central Europe to eastern Siberia.
Irish Status: Widely distributed and common.
Ecology: Characteristic of a wide range of well-vegetated wetlands including river and lake margins and well-vegetated mires. Rare at higher altitudes and not generally on peat or in association with Sphagnum mosses.