Harpalus pensylvanicus

Harpalus pensylvanicus is a species of ground beetle in the subfamily Harpalinae.[1] It is found throughout North America. It was described by Degeer in 1774.[1]

Harpalus pensylvanicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Carabidae
Genus: Harpalus
Species:
H. pensylvanicus
Binomial name
Harpalus pensylvanicus
(Degeer, 1774)

The adults of the species are shiny black on the top, reddish brown underneath, and the elytra have lines. The larvae are black with a reddish head and the body is tapered with two long cerci. The species food includes the seeds of ragweed and assorted grasses. They are important weed seed predators. They prefer small seeds such as lambs quarter and waterhemp seeds.[2] They favor high hayfields opposed to low maize fields.[3] The species occasionally damages ripening strawberries which is probably how it gets water. It is attracted to lights. The common name of the species is Pennsylvania ground beetle.[4]

References
  1. "Harpalus Latreille, 1802: 92". Carabidae of the World. 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  2. Van Der Laat, Rocio; Owen, Micheal D. K.; Liebman, Matt; Leon, Ramon G. (2015). "Postdispersal Weed Seed Predation and Invertebrate Activity Density in Three Tillage Regimes". Weed Science. 63 (4): 828–838. doi:10.1614/WS-D-15-00030.1. S2CID 86038247.
  3. Fox, Aaron F.; Reberg-Horton, S. Chris; Orr, David B.; Moorman, Christopher E.; Frank, Steven D. (2013). "Crop and field border effects on weed seed predation in the southeastern U.S. Coastal plain". Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 177: 58–62. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2013.06.006.
  4. Swan, Lester (1972). The Common Insects Of North America. Harper Row, Publishers, Inc. p. 341. ISBN 0-06-014179-4.
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