Description: 7-8.5mm long black predatory ground beetle, living in fens and marshes. Widespread but local.

NI account: Widespread and common in a variety of wetland types.

Ecology: Hygrophilous and primarily a fen species. Common in inter-drumlin and lakeshore fens, but also recorded from more ombrotrophic mires at low to moderate altitude.

Distribution: A Eurosiberian Wide-temperate species (64) distributed across Europe, except the extreme south, and into western Siberia.

Similar Species: Pterostichus gracilis: inner pronotal fovea not prolonged; last abdominal sternite of male without a longitudinal keel; elytra with strong microsculpture, iridescent

Key Identification Features:

• Medium species, black
• Hind angles of pronotum sharp but not denticulate
• Pronotum with two basal foveae, inner one prolonged (Fig. 66)
• Last abdominal sternite of male with longitudinal keel
• Elytra not iridescent

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

iNaturalist: Pterostichus minor at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Pterostichus minor | Classification: Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae, Pterostichus

Thumbnails for genus Pterostichus