Description: Very small (3-3.5mm) shiny black ground beetle with obscurely red ends to the elytra. Locally abundant in fens and bogs. The apparently rare B. gilvipes keys out to this species in the standard literature (Lindroth 1974).

NI account: Widespread but local across Ireland in suitable fen habitats.

Ecology: A hygrophilous species, found in well-vegetated marshes, riverbanks, lakeshores and fens. Lindroth (1985) gives Sphagnum bogs as a habitat, but it seems restricted to minerotrophic fens or marshes within Ireland. Often found in company with species of Subgenus Philochthus.

Distribution: A Eurosiberian Wide-Boreal species (34) distributed from south-west Europe to Trans-Baikal in Siberia.

Similar Species: Bembidion gilvipes: elytra without apical spot; frontal furrows doubled in anterior part (Fig. 50); legs entirely pale

Key Identification Features:

• Small (3.1-3.6mm)
• Terminal segment of palpi much reduced (Fig. 31)
• Dark with subapical pale spot on elytra; sometimes elytra entirely paler
• Frontal furrows single but converging (Fig. 49)
• First antennal segment and legs slightly paler (dark rufous)

Distribution Map from NBN: Bembidion doris at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Bembidion doris at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Bembidion doris | Classification: Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae, Bembidion

Thumbnails for genus Bembidion