Description: A pubescent, 11-13mm long, greenish black ground beetle living among dense vegetation in rich fens. Scattered in undisturbed, very wet fens and marshes.

NI account: A rare species reported by Johnson & Halbert (1902) from Clare and Kildare. Speight (1977) trapped a female of this species on the east shore of Lough Ree, Westmeath and there are several older records for the Killarney District, Kerry. The species has been taken recently at Lough Loum in Co Clare (Good, pers. comm., also Anderson and Bryan) and there appear to be substantial colonies in fen at Barrigone and Ballyvocogue Crossroads in Co. Limerick (pers. com., Alan Brown). At one time it was thought to have become extinct in Britain but has recently been trapped at a site in north Wales (Hodge, 1998).

Ecology: Very hygrophilous on richly vegetated, swampy, river and lake margins.

Distribution: This species has a Eurasian Wide-temperate distribution (65), including most of Europe, and extends east to the Amur in Siberia. It appears to be decreasing over much of northern Europe.

Similar Species: Chlaenius nigricornis: first antennal segment usually pale; much brighter with bright metallic reflections on pronotum and elytra; pronotum narrower in front (Fig. 89)

Key Identification Features:

• Medium to large
• Entire upper surface punctate and pubescent
• Elytra without setiferous punctures on 3rd interval
• Upper surface black with head greenish, hind body sometimes faint bronze
• Antennae dark

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

iNaturalist: Chlaenius tristis at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Chlaenius tristis | Classification: Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae, Chlaenius

Thumbnails for genus Chlaenius