Elucidation of Some Ecological Traits of Carabids (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Inhabiting Kakuma Campus Grassland, Kanazawa City, Japan

Abstract

Although adult feeding habits and food requirements are currently and reasonably well known for many coleopteran species, still some carabid species are with peculiar feeding guilds. Although many studies have shown a relationship between morphology of mandibles and feeding behavior in different taxal group, still many aspects concerning the feeding behavior of carabids are promising. An assemblage of carabid species was collected from Kakuma Campus grassland in Kanazawa City, Japan. These species were represented by five subfamilies and nine tribes where the highest number of tribes (3 tribes) was confined to subfamily Harpalinae. The collected carabid assemblage was subjected to mandibular analysis and being categorized into two main groups; carnivorous and omnivorous species. Homologies among mandibular characteristics and functional adaptations of the mandible were also proposed to explore how the interaction network of carabids can affect their behavior in different habitats.