Description: A pubescent, 6.5-9mm long, brownish black, phytophagous ground beetle of open, ruderal habitats. Very local.

NI account: There is a Haliday record of this species for Belfast (Johnson & Halbert, 1902) under the name "Harpalus puncticollis, Payk.". However, all recent material collected in the Belfast area has been identified as Ophonus rufibarbis, and since there was considerable confusion among early workers about the separation of species within Ophonus, northern records are here disregarded. Widely but locally distributed mainly along coasts in southern counties.

Ecology: More local and southern than the closely related Ophonus rufibarbis. Mainly on sandy ground near coasts.

Distribution: A Suboceanic temperate (or Southern-temperate) species (72) distributed from southern Fennoscandia (rare) to the Mediterranean and east to Asia Minor. Introduced in N. America.

Similar Species: Ophonus rufibarbis: basal bead on pronotum entirely absent

Key Identification Features:

• Characteristically stocky, broad, legs short
• Head with one supra orbital puncture
• Hind angles of pronotum without setae
• Elytral epipleura uncrossed
• Third elytral intervals with setiferous puncture(s)
• Entire upper surface, including head and frons, punctate and pubescent
• Basal bead on pronotum present but thin

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

iNaturalist: Ophonus puncticeps at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Ophonus puncticeps | Classification: Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae, Ophonus

Thumbnails for genus Ophonus