CreatureData

Spring Blackclock

Pterostichus vernalis (Panzer, 1796)

Status not recordedbeetles

The spring blackclock (Pterostichus vernalis) is a species in the family Carabidae, order Coleoptera. Recorded adults reach 7 mm in length. Source checklists list it for 34 countries, including Algeria, Austria and Azerbaijan.

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Quick facts about the spring blackclock

Weight
Not recorded
Length
6 mm – 7 mmsrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grassland, human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
34 countriessrc for Countries on record

How big is the spring blackclock?

SPRING BLACKCLOCK · LENGTH 7 MMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 7 mm, the recorded maximum length of the spring blackclock is about 0.4% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

What does the spring blackclock eat, and what eats it?

Species recorded in published studies and collections.

Recorded prey of the spring blackclock

The 24 best supported of 82 on record

  1. Oxypoda longipes2 sources
  2. Anotylus inustus2 sources
  3. Chlamydatus pulicarius2 sources
  4. Chlamydatus pullus2 sources
  5. Chlamydatus saltitans2 sources
  6. Dicyphus globulifer2 sources
  7. Diplostyla concolor2 sources
  8. Brown disc snail Discus ruderatus2 sources
  9. Drassyllus pusillus2 sources
  10. Errastunus ocellaris2 sources
  11. Eupteryx atropunctata2 sources
  12. Eupteryx calcarata2 sources
Show 12 more
  1. Eupteryx notata2 sources
  2. Eupteryx vittata2 sources
  3. Boreal yellow-headed soil centipede Geophilus flavus2 sources
  4. Graphocraerus ventralis2 sources
  5. Halticus apterus2 sources
  6. Hebata decipiens2 sources
  7. One-eyed centipede Lamyctes emarginatus2 sources
  8. Liogluta alpestris2 sources
  9. European tarnished plant bug Lygus rugulipennis2 sources
  10. Orius niger2 sources
  11. Jumping plant bug Orthocephalus saltator2 sources
  12. Agallia brachyptera2 sources

Recorded predators of the spring blackclock

21 on record

  1. Philonthus laminatus2 sources
  2. Allagelena gracilens2 sources
  3. Philonthus lepidus2 sources
  4. Carabus auratus2 sources
  5. Philonthus succicola2 sources
  6. Tent spider Pisaura mirabilis2 sources
  7. Tasgius melanarius2 sources
  8. Gorse orbweaver Agalenatea redii2 sources
  9. Cucumber green spider Araniella cucurbitina2 sources
  10. Dark-footed harp ground beetle Calathus fuscipes2 sources
  11. Granulated ground beetle Carabus granulatus2 sources
  12. Common European earwig Forficula auricularia2 sources
Show 9 more
  1. Furrow spider Larinioides cornutus2 sources
  2. Cricket bat spider Mangora acalypha2 sources
  3. Common heart shield Nebria brevicollis2 sources
  4. Ocypus nitens2 sources
  5. Philonthus rotundicollis2 sources
  6. Coal-runner Pterostichus melanarius2 sources
  7. Quedius curtipennis2 sources
  8. Tasgius pedator2 sources
  9. Trochosa terricola2 sources

Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).

References for these records

Where does the spring blackclock live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The spring blackclock is listed for 34 countries.

CanadaKazakhstanUzbekistanNorwayFranceAlgeriaSwedenBelarusUkrainePolandAustriaHungaryRomaniaLithuaniaLatviaEstoniaGermanyBulgariaGreeceCroatiaSwitzerlandBelgiumNetherlandsPortugalSpainIrelandItalyDenmarkAzerbaijanSloveniaFinlandSlovakiaMoroccoMacedonia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Algeria
  2. Austria
  3. Azerbaijan
  4. Belarus
  5. Belgium
  6. Bulgaria
  7. Canada
  8. Croatia
  9. Denmark
  10. Estonia
  11. Finland
  12. France
  13. Germany
  14. Greece
  15. Hungary
  16. Ireland
  17. Italy
  18. Kazakhstan
  19. Latvia
  20. Lithuania
  21. Morocco
  22. Netherlands
  23. North Macedonia
  24. Norway
  25. Poland
  26. Portugal
  27. Romania
  28. Slovakia
  29. Slovenia
  30. Spain
  31. Sweden
  32. Switzerland
  33. Ukraine
  34. Uzbekistan

Why a country list is not a range map

Listed by: CarabCat (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the spring blackclock as introduced in 2 countries.

  1. Canada
  2. United States

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the spring blackclock endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the spring blackclock classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderColeoptera
  5. familyCarabidae
  6. genusPterostichus
  7. SpeciesPterostichus vernalis (Panzer, 1796)

Synonyms Argutor biimpressus, Argutor rufomarginatus, Argutor sedulus, Argutor vernalis, Carabus crenatus, Carabus vernalis, Feronia distinguenda, Feronia vernalis, Lagarus degorsi, Lagarus ruthenus, Lagarus vernalis, Omaseus clancularius, Platysma martjanovi, Platysma rotundicolle, Pterostichus biimpressus, Pterostichus bistriatus, Pterostichus brunneus, Pterostichus crenatus, Pterostichus degorsi, Pterostichus distinguendus, Pterostichus emarginatus, Pterostichus inaequalis, Pterostichus martjanovi, Pterostichus nigricornis, Pterostichus nigrofemoratus, Pterostichus obtusus, Pterostichus piceus, Pterostichus picipennis, Pterostichus planatus, Pterostichus quadripunctatus, Pterostichus rotundicollis, Pterostichus rufescens, Pterostichus rufipes, Pterostichus rufomarginatus, Pterostichus ruthenus, Pterostichus sedulus, Stomis vernalis

Other names and names in other languages (7)
  • Uanselig jordløberDanish
  • Uanselig muldløberDanish
  • Kleiner GrabläuferGerman
  • GroeftarszwartschildDutch
  • Платизма весенняяRussian
  • fuktsvartlöpareSwedish
  • Птеростих веснянийUkrainian

Catalogue of LifeiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidata

Relatives of the spring blackclock

Other species in the same genus Pterostichus.

Coal-runner

Pterostichus melanarius

CarabidaeNo free photo yet

CompareSpring Blackclock vs Coal-runnerSpring Blackclock vs Bronzed BlackclockSpring Blackclock vs Upland BlackclockSpring Blackclock vs Ebony Blackclock

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the spring blackclock?

An adult spring blackclock measures 6 mm – 7 mm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the spring blackclock live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the spring blackclock for 34 countries, including Algeria, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Belgium. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the spring blackclock an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the spring blackclock as introduced in 2 countries: Canada and United States, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the spring blackclock?

The spring blackclock (Pterostichus vernalis) belongs to the family Carabidae in the order Coleoptera.

What eats the spring blackclock?

Animals recorded preying on the spring blackclock include philonthus laminatus, allagelena gracilens, philonthus lepidus and carabus auratus. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Which animals does the spring blackclock eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the spring blackclock include oxypoda longipes, anotylus inustus, chlamydatus pulicarius and chlamydatus pullus. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Spring Blackclock (Pterostichus vernalis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spring-blackclock

MLA

“Spring Blackclock (Pterostichus vernalis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/spring-blackclock.

BibTeX
@misc{spring_blackclock_2026,
  title = {Spring Blackclock (Pterostichus vernalis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/spring-blackclock},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}