Copper Greenclock Poecilus cupreus

The first of these was noticed next to where I was setting pitfall traps and was potted live. The second was caught in one of the pitfall traps I set that day (in propylene glycol, so no live photos of that one). Although they showed clear punctures on the head I wasn't immediately completely convinced about the ID. The punctures were smaller and a little sparser than I had expected. I couldn't see much in the way of punctures along the edge of the pronotum which seemed to be implied by one of the references I looked at, and I wasn't immediately convinced the position of the outer depression was far enough over to the side for cupreus. I set them to one side and came back to them a few months later - at which point I wasn't sure why I was so hesitant. The punctures on the head seem comparable to those shown on other photos of cupreus and certainly very different from versicolor. I now felt the position of the outer depression fitted cupreus better than versicolor, and the way Hackston describes this (closer to the side margin than the inner depressions) was helpful here as that was very definitely the case. It had at least eight setae on the inner side of the tibia which would be possible for either species but I think versicolor usually has no more than seven. I dissected both to see if I could look at the aedeagi which might have provided further confirmation but both proved to be females.

female Copper Greenclock Poecilus cupreus showing head, pronotum, humerus, elytra and hind tibia, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 29th March 2024

female Copper Greenclock Poecilus cupreus showing head (3 views), pronotum (2 views) and elytra, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 29th to 31st March 2024