GROUND BEETLES
(Coleoptera: Carabidae)
Yves Bousquet
INTRODUCED SPECIES
The family Carabidae contains 25 species (5 % of the fauna) present in the Mixedwood Plains Ecozone that were introduced into North America by man. These species typically occur in disturbed habitats. A high percentage of these were introduced as far back as late 18th and early 19th centuries, mostly in bulk rock and soil regularly taken aboard sailing vessels as ballast (see Lindroth, 1957 for details). More recent introductions probably arrived with nursery stocks shipped from Europe.
The ports of entry for these species vary considerably. Some species arrived first in the Maritimes and spreaded westward (e.g. Agonum muelleri Herbst; Amara aulica Panzer; Amara bifrons Gyllenhal; Bembidion bruxellense Wesmael; Carabus nemoralis Müller; Laemosthenus terricola Herbst; Pterostichus melanarius Illiger; Trechus rubens Fabricius); others at ports on the St. Lawrence River, particularly at Québec City (Acupalpus meridionalis Linné) and Montréal (Blemus discus Fabricius; Carabus granulatus granulatus Linné; Clivina fossor Linné, and Harpalus rufibarbis Fabricius); or at ports along the Great Lakes and spread mostly eastward (Trechus quadristriatus Schrank; Bembidion obtusum Audinet-Serville); or along the Atlantic Coast of the United States and spread mostly northward (Clivina collaris Herbst and Harpalus puncticeps Stephens).