The pupal morphology of the Carabus (s. l.) (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in the southwestern Iberian peninsula

Abstract

The pupae of Carabus (s. l.) of the south-west Iberian peninsula are described. The study was carried out with pupae of Macrothorax rugosus (Fabricius, 1792), Hadrocarabus dufouri (Dejean, 1831), H. lusitanicus (Fabricius, 1801) and Rhabdotocarabus melancholicus (Fabricius, 1798) reared in the laboratory from adults caught in the field. By determining and testing various morphological structures, all three genera were identified. These results indicate that the presence or absence of setae on the pronotum, the distribution of hairs on the abdominal tergi and the development of tergal expansions from urotergi are the most significant features for identification.