Pachycarus
Pachycarus atrocoeruleus (Waltl, 1838)
Order Beetles (Coleoptera)
Family Ground beetles (Carabidae)
Conservation status: in Bulgaria: Critically Endangered CR [B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv)+2ab(i,ii,iii); C2a(ii)].
General distribution. Macedonia, Southwestern Bulgaria, Greece. A Balkan endemic species.
Distribution and abundance in Bulgaria. Found only in the southwesternmost regions of the country: Kresna Gorge (D.W. Wrase, personal communication) and Kozhuh Hill in the Sandanski-Petrich Kettle [1]. In the last 15 years, not more than 15 specimens were collected or observed in Bulgaria, almost all of them recorded on the western slope of Kozhuh. On the basis of investigations, the numbers of that population are estimated at not more than 300-400 adult specimens.
Habitats. A xerophilous species. It inhabits open stone-grass xerophytic plant formations of the Mediterranean or Submediterranean type with altitudes of up to 250-300 m. This species lives in the soil at depths between 20 and 40 cm.
Biology. The adult is a geophile. It digs vertical or semivertical tunnels in the soil, also using natural cavities between larger and deeply dug-in stones. On their bottoms it builds a chamber for every egg, in which it stores immature plant seeds to be used as food by the newly hatched larva. At sunset or during the night, the adult climbs onto the stems of plants. The larva and the adult are phytophagous and feed on seeds of plants, mainly of the family of aster (Asteraceae). There is no information on reproduction but on the basis of the biology of closely related species a small number of eggs, care of the offspring and a limited number of specimens are supposed.
Similar species. None.
Negative factors. The exploitation of the stone quarry of Kozhuh Hill.
Conservation measures taken. None.
Conservation measures needed. Strict observation of the full ban on the pasture of goats and the limited ban on the pasture of sheep in the Kozhuh Natural Site. The activity of the stone quarry must not be resumed. Declaration of Kozhuh Natural Site as a Protected Territory of a higher rank.
References. 1. Gueorguiev, Gueorguiev, 1995.
Author: Borislav Gueorguiev
