Amara tibialis

Although there are lots of records of this species in Norfolk these records are concentrated in the Brecks, the far western heaths and the coast, with a few also in the Norwich area. In north-central Norfolk it appears to be very thin on the ground, so I checked and double-checked this one very carefully.

This beetle came to light in my garden. It was just 4.5mm long and hardly over 2.0mm wide, so at the bottom end of the size range for tibialis which is the smallest of all the Amara species in the UK. The elytra were barely metallic at all, but it seems this doesn't disqualify it from being tibialis although it sounds like the species is normally more metallic than this one was. The abbreviated scutellar striae were practically absent, their path marked by two (on one side) or three (on the other side) small punctures.

Amara tibialis showing dimensions and close-ups of abrbeviated scutellar striae and pronotum base, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 9th July 2021