''Amara'' is a large
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
carabid beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s, commonly called the sun beetles. Many are
holarctic
The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...
, but a few
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
are
neotropical
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In bioge ...
or occur in eastern
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
.
These
ground beetle
Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal f ...
s 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
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...
, with some species known to climb ripening grasses to feed on the seeds. Other species are used as
weed control
Weed control is a type of pest control, which attempts to stop or reduce growth of weeds, especially noxious weeds, with the aim of reducing their competition with desired flora and fauna including domesticated plants and livestock, and in n ...
agents. Numerous species are adventive in non-native habitats, particularly species that thrive in
synanthropic
A synanthrope (from the Greek σύν ''syn'', "together with" + ἄνθρωπος ''anthropos'', "man") is a member of a species of wild animal or plant that lives near, and benefits from, an association with human beings and the somewhat artific ...
settings.
Gallery
File:Amara.communis.-.calwer.06.12.jpg, ''A. communis''
File:Amara.fulva.-.calwer.06.13.jpg, ''A. fulva''
File:Amara.lunicollis.-.calwer.06.11.jpg, ''A. lunicollis''
File:Amara ovata.ogv, ''A. ovata''
Subgenera
The following are subgenera of ''Amara'':
* ''Acorius''
Zimmermann, 1831
* ''Allobradytus''
Iablokoff-Khnzorian, 1975
* ''Amara''
Bonelli, 1810
* ''Amarocelia''
Motschulsky
Victor Ivanovich Motschulsky (sometimes Victor von Motschulsky, russian: link=no, Виктор Иванович Мочульский, 11 April 1810, in St. Petersburg – 5 June 1871, in Simferopol) was a Russian entomologist mainly interested in ...
, 1862
* ''Amathitis''
Zimmermann, 1831
* ''Ammoleirus''
Tschitscherine, 1899
* ''Ammoxena''
Tschitscherine, 1894
* ''Armatoleirides''
Tanaka, 1957
* ''Atlantocnemis''
Antoine, 1953
* ''Bradytodema''
Hieke, 1983
* ''Bradytulus''
Tschitscherine, 1894
* ''Bradytus''
Stephens, 1827
* ''Camptocelia''
Jeannel, 1942
* ''Celia''
Zimmermann, 1832
* ''Cribramara''
Kryzhanovskij, 1964
* ''Cumeres''
Andrewes, 1924
* ''Curtonotus''
Stephens, 1827
* ''Eoleirides''
Tschitscherine, 1898
* ''Harpaloamara''
Baliani, 1934
* ''Harpalodema''
Reitter Reitter is a German occupational surname, which means a "mounted soldier" or "knight", from the Middle High German ''ritære'' (" horseman"). Notable people with the surname include:
* Edmund Reitter (1845–1920), a Moravia-born Austrian-German e ...
, 1888
* ''Heterodema''
Tschitscherine, 1894
* ''Hyalamara''
Tschitscherine, 1903
* ''Leiocnemis''
Zimmermann, 1831
* ''Leiramara''
Hieke, 1988
* ''Leirides''
Putzeys, 1866
* ''Leiromorpha''
Ganglbauer, 1891
* ''Leironotus''
Ganglbauer, 1892
* ''Leuris''
Lutshnik, 1927
* ''Microleirus''
Kryzhanovskij, 1974
* ''Neopercosia''
Hieke, 1978
* ''Paracelia''
Bedel, 1899
* ''Paraleirides''
Sainte-Claire Deville, 1906
* ''Parapercosia''
Tschitscherine, 1899
* ''Percosia''
Zimmermann, 1832
* ''Phaenotrichus''
Tschitscherine, 1898
* ''Phanerodonta''
Tschitscherine, 1894
* ''Polysitamara''
Kryzhanovskij, 1968
* ''Pseudoamara''
Baliani, 1934
* ''Pseudocelia''
Lutshnik, 1935
* ''Pseudoleirides''
Kryzhanovskij, 1968
* ''Pseudoleiromorpha''
Hieke, 1981
* ''Reductocelia''
Lafer, 1989
* ''Shunichius''
Habu, 1972
* ''Xanthamara''
Bedel, 1899
* ''Xenocelia''
Hieke, 2001
* ''Zabrocelis''
Putzeys, 1866
* ''Zezea''
Csiki, 1929
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
*
*
External links
*
*
''Amara'' Bonelli 1810
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1754819
Taxa named by Franco Andrea Bonelli
Articles containing video clips
Pterostichinae