Sun Beetles

Amara is a large genus of carabid beetles, commonly called the sun beetles. Many are holarctic, but a few species are neotropical or occur in eastern Asia. These ground beetles are mostly black or bronze-colored, and many species have a characteristic "bullet-shaped" habitus, as shown in the photos, making them taxonomically difficult for a beginner. They are predominantly herbivorous, with some species known to climb ripening grasses to feed on the seeds. Other species are used as weed control agents. Numerous species are adventive in non-native habitats, particularly species that thrive in synanthropic settings.

Gallery

Subgenera

The following are subgenera of Amara:

See also

List of Amara species

References

Haghebaert, G. (1989). Coleoptera from marine habitats, in: Wouters, K.; Baert, L. (Ed.) (1989). Proceedings of the Symposium "Invertebrates of Belgium". pp. 301–308

Further reading

SASKA, Pavel; HONĚK, Alois (2003). "Temperature and development of central European species of Amara (Coleoptera: Carabidae)" (PDF). European Journal of Entomology. 100 (4): 509–515. doi:10.14411/eje.2003.078. Raupach, Michael J.; Hannig, Karsten; Morinière, Jérôme; Hendrich, Lars (2018). "A DNA barcode library for ground beetles of Germany: the genus Amara Bonelli, 1810 (Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae)". ZooKeys (759): 57–80. Bibcode:2018ZooK..759...57R. doi:10.3897/zookeys.759.24129. PMC 5968077. PMID 29853775.

External links

Media related to Amara at Wikimedia Commons Amara Bonelli 1810