Beetles of North Carolina
Family (Alpha):
Scientific Name: Common Name:
« »
View Carabidae Members:
Members of Trechus:
6 NC Records

Trechus valentinei Barr, 1979 - 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 valentinei belongs to subgenus Microtrechus and is included in the Nebulosus Species Group by Bosquet (2012). In addition to valentinei, 21 other species are included in this group, 18 of which occur in North Carolina and the rest in Tennessee.
Species Status: The type locality is Mt. Kephart in the Great Smoky Mountains along the North Carolina-Tennessee state line (the county is given as Sevier in Tennesee) (Barr, 1979)
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: BugGuide, Wikipedia, GBIF   iNaturalistTechnical Description, Adults/Nymphs: Barr (1979)                                                              
Comments: "Piceous, more or less pale, shining, form moderately robust and subconvex" (Barr, 1979). 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]: 3.6-3.9 mm, mean 3.7 (Barr, 1979)
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, 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: Barr gives the elevation range as 3500' to 6000' but states that "Trechus valentinei is an inhabitant of the high spruce-fir forests of the Great Smokies, where it occurs under rocks beside streams and springs and in shallow ravines" (Barr, 1979).
See also Habitat Account for Spruce-Fir Forests
Diet: Predatory on small insects and other invertebrates
Observation Methods:
Abundance/Frequency: Considered common by Donabauer (2005b)
Adult Phenology:
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: [SR]
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S1S2]
State Protection:
Comments: This species is endemic to Spruce-fir forests growing along the crest of the Great Smoky Mountains. It is very likely to be vulnerable to the warming and drying impacts of climate change, as well as to the impacts of all of the other factors that are degrading the Spruce-fir canopy upon which it depends for its microclimate