Beetles of North Carolina
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Scientific Name: Common Name:
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View Carabidae Members:
Members of Trechus:
8 NC Records

Trechus uncifer Barr, 1962 - No Common Name

Taxonomy
Family: Carabidae Subfamily: Trechinae                                                             
Comments: One of 82 species in this genus that have been recorded in North America north of Mexico, 42 of which occur in North Carolina (Bosquet, 2012). Trechus uncifer belongs to subgenus Microtrechus and is included in the Uncifer Species Group by Barr (1979). In addition to uncifer, Bosquet (2012) includes 10 other species in this group, all of which occur in the North Carolina mountains or on the ridges forming the border between North Carolina and Tennessee.
Species Status: The type locality is Clingman's Dome (Barr, 1962)
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: BugGuide, Wikipedia, GBIF   iNaturalistTechnical Description, Adults/Nymphs: Barr (1962)                                                              
Comments: "Pale piceous, shining" (Barr, 1962). Members of this genus generally show too little variation in pattern for standard photographs to be used to identify particular species.
Total Length [body plus wings; excludes ovipositor]: 2.7-3.2 mm, mean 2.9 (Barr, 1962)
Structural Features: As a member of subgenus Microtrechus, only the first segment of front tarsus is enlarged in males. This species is distinguished from other members of its species group morphometrically and by features of the aedeagus (Barr, 1962, 1979).
Distribution in North Carolina
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥
 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) <
 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)
Click on graph to enlarge
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: All recorded localities are above 5,500 and support stands of Spruce-fir Forest. Donabauer (2005a) reported finding specimens on wet cliffs, under wet stones and moss mats in Spruce-fir forests. At Mt. Collins, however, he also found it in mixed forest on the north slope.
See also Habitat Account for Spruce-Fir Forests
Diet: Predatory on small insects and other invertebrates
Observation Methods:
Abundance/Frequency: Donabauer (2005a) considered this species to be comparatively rare at the type locality
Adult Phenology:
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: [SR]
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S1S2]
State Protection:
Comments: This species is nearly endemic to North Carolina, restricted to Spruce-fir forests growing along the crest of the Great Smoky Mountains and Waterrock Knob in the Plott Balsams. This species is probably highly vulnerable to the warming and drying impacts of climate change and to all of the various impacts to the canopy of the Spruce-fir Forests upon which it depends for maintaining its microclimate.