Description: An 8-9.5mm long, hairy, red and black ground beetle of northern upland heaths and raised bog. Very local and only near coasts in the north and west.

NI account: Johnson & Halbert (1902) list the Donegal mountains (unlocalised), Minnaun Cliffs on Achill Island and Croagh Patrick, Mayo as localities. There are modern records for Rathlin Island and Beaghs Forest in Antrim and for Benbo Mountain in Sligo.

Ecology: Most records are for coastal habitats, but it is also found in exposed places on mountains. It appears to be stenotopic for certain categories of well-drained peat under Calluna.

Distribution: A Eurasian Boreal-montane species (45) distributed across Europe except parts of the south, east to Siberia and Kamchatka.

Similar Species: There is nothing similar to this medium-sized hairy ground beetle in Ireland.

Key Identification Features:

• Medium (8-10mm)
• Elytra truncate at apex
• Entire upper surface punctate and pubescent
• Elytra pubescent
• Generally dark but base of elytra red

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

iNaturalist: Cymindis vaporariorum at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Cymindis vaporariorum | Classification: Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae, Cymindis

Thumbnails for genus Cymindis