Pterostichus melanarius (predator)
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Pterostichus melanarius (predator) (Illiger, 1798) - (strawberry ground beetle)
This ground beetle is native to Europe and has been accidentally introduced into North America in the 1920s. It is now common and widely distributed in northern parts of North America. P. melanarius is a very polyphagous predator in agricultural crops, feeding on a wide variety of arthropods and also on slugs. The prey includes crop pests, but also other predators and beneficial insects. Seeds may be also included in the diet.
There is one generation per year with females laying eggs in the summer and larva overwinter in the soil. Adults rarely overwinter. Because of their life style, larval survival is reduced by fall and spring tillage. All stages are also vulnerable to the use of insecticides.
Larvae are elongated and worm-like with sclerotized parts having a dark brown (mainly head and thorax) to light brown colour (rest of body). The adults are black, around 15 mm long. Two adult forms have been described with short (brachypterous) and long wings (macropterous). Brachypterous forms are flightless and are the typical form in Europe (~98% of adults). Beetles with long wings are much more common in North America (up to 40%), but have become less common since the introduction of the insect.
For a review see the Busch et al. (2021).
