Chlaenius nitidulus (Schrank, 1781)

This western Palaearctic species occurs throughout most of Europe from Portugal to Greece and extends east into western Siberia, to the north it reaches Finland and southern Sweden, where it was first recorded in 1969, and it has been recorded from the Faroe Islands, it is absent from Asia Minor, North Africa and most of the Mediterranean islands. Through most central Europe it is locally common although in mountain regions it is confined to valleys and rarely occurs above 600m, it is otherwise very local and rare and in many countries, especially in northern Europe, seems to have declined over recent decades. In the UK it was known from the Isle of Wight and East Sussex in the 19th century and was recorded from coastal cliff seepages in Dorset in 1930 but has not been seen since and is probably now extinct here. Typical habitats wetland margins, usually on loamy or clay soils with patchy vegetation exposed to the sun, most often on grassy banks beside nutrient-rich water or coastal floodplains although in central Europe they are occasionally common on arable land and sometimes occur in domestic gardens. Adults occur year-round, they overwinter among litter etc., often at the base of trees and usually away from water, and are active over a long season from early spring, they are mostly crepuscular and nocturnal but also become active on hot summer days when they may be seen running among vegetation or climbing stems in search of prey. Breeding occurs in late spring and summer and larvae develop through the summer, it is not known whether they overwinter but it is thought they pupate in late summer and produce new-generation adults in late summer and autumn, which is typical of the genus. Wing development varies but in northern countries many specimens have poorly developed wings and flight muscles, more generally flight has not been observed and so dispersal is probably by walking.