Description: A 7-8.5mm long black beetle with bronze relection, living at the margin of freshwater, usually among Carex and mosses. Very rare in Ireland.

NI account: There appear to be only two Irish records of this species. Johnson & Halbert (1902) give a record for Killaloe in Clare and Speight et al. (1983) report a Killarney record of Janson (1920) verified by vouchers in the Natural History Museum, London. It has declined recently in Britain and is now almost confined to habitats around the Severn Estuary (Luff, 1998).

Ecology: Very hygrophilous in richly vegetated, muddy lakeshores and riverbanks.

Distribution: A Eurasian Wide-temperate species (65) distributed across north and west Europe south to central France and north Italy and east to the River Amur in Siberia.

Similar Species: Agonum viduum: first antennal segment and elytral epipleura dark; meta tarsi with deeper furrows and distinct central ridge (Fig. 76) A. nigrum: greatest width of pronotum in front of middle, reflexed margins very narrow - not reaching front angles

Key Identification Features:

• Medium, pronotum narrower than elytra, hind angles rounded
• Legs long and slender
• Mentum with median tooth (Fig. 103)
• Claws simple
• Elytral intervals less convex
• First antennal segment dark rufous, not black
• Upper surface slightly metallic
• Greatest width of pronotum at or behind middle, reflexed margins broader, reaching front angles
• Meta tarsi with shallow furrows (Fig. 76)

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

iNaturalist: Agonum versutum at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Agonum versutum | Classification: Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae, Agonum

Thumbnails for genus Agonum