Ground Beetles of Ireland
Bembidion obtusum
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 © Roy Anderson |
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Bembidion obtusum Serville, 1821
Description: A small (3-3.5mm) brownish-black ground beetle of open soils in gardens and arable land. Common in Britain, less so in Ireland.
World Distribution: A Eurosiberian temperate species (74) distributed across western and central Europe to the Caucasus and western Siberia.
Irish Status: Recent published Irish records are few. The statement of Johnson & Halbert (1902) that it is common on riverbanks is mistaken. Johnson himself only took the species at two sites, both in Armagh, and there is an old record for Belfast. However, Kennedy (1994) has reported the species to be widespread in cereal acreage in southern counties.
Ecology: In common with B. lampros, this species shows a preference for dryish cultivated soils, and is probably commonest in the east and south-east of Ireland. According to Kennedy (1994), it is abundant in winter wheat crops in the south-east where it is winter-active and often diurnal, feeding largely on aphids. Luff (1998) indicates a pronounced south-easterly distribution in Britain with only a handful of Scottish and Welsh records.