Rain Beetle Pterostichus melanarius

According to Duff, the commonest Carabid in pitfall traps in farmland in southern England. It's perhaps surprising then that it took me as long as it did to find then, though I haven't done a huge amount of pitfall trapping. Its wings are obsolete or vestigial so it's unlikely to come to light which is how I've found most of my beetles until recently.

This was found in a pitfall trap. It was about 16.7mm long and had no or extremely short wings.

Rain Beetle Pterostichus melanarius showing pronotum and hind tarsomere 5, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 25th-26th August 2025