Lebiini

Lebiini can be distinguished from other carabid tribes by combinations of characters including: elytra often with distinctive color patterns or metallic sheen; pronotum shape variable but frequently narrowed posteriorly; antennae filiform; and male genitalia with distinctive configurations of the aedeagus and parameres. Many genera within Lebiini are arboreal or associated with specific microhabitats such as under bark, in leaf litter, or on vegetation.

Habitats vary widely among genera and species. Some genera are arboreal, found on vegetation, tree trunks, and in forest canopies. Others inhabit leaf litter, soil, or occur under bark of dead or decaying trees. Certain species are associated with sandy desert environments. The tribe spans multiple terrestrial ecosystems from tropical rainforests to arid regions.

Global distribution with highest diversity in tropical and subtropical regions. Present in Tropical Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Australasia, the Neotropics (Central and South America), and the Oriental region including Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Some genera extend into temperate zones including Taiwan, China, and Japan.

Predatory. Members of the tribe are carnivorous, feeding on other small invertebrates. Specific prey records include predation on beetle pupae under bark.

Holometabolous with egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages. Larvae are terrestrial and predatory. Mature larvae of at least some species develop under bark or in similar concealed microhabitats.

Many species are associated with arboreal or elevated habitats, with adults observed on vegetation, tree trunks, and fogged from forest canopies. Some species are found in rotting logs in rainforests. Activity patterns vary; some are nocturnal.

Predators in terrestrial food webs, contributing to regulation of invertebrate populations in forest ecosystems, particularly in arboreal and soil/litter microhabitats.

• CalleidiniHistorically confused with Lebiini; subtribe Agrina was formerly included in Calleidina. Distinguished by different combinations of morphological characters including male genitalia structure and body proportions.
• LachnophoriniSimilar arboreal habits in some species; distinguished by differences in tarsal structure, elytral punctation patterns, and genitalic morphology.

• ground beetles
• Carabidae
• predatory beetles
• arboreal beetles
• tropical diversity

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 88(2)—Penrose Memorial issue | Beetles In The Bush
• Taxonomic revision of the genus Parena Motschulsky, 1860(Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini, Metallicina)
• Larval Morphology of Mochtherus luctuosus Putzeys (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Lebiinae: Lebiini: Pericalina) with Notes on Their Biology
• Revision of the Oriental Genus Physodera Eschscholtz, 1829 (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini, Physoderina), with the descriptions of two new species
• Revision of genus Pericalus from China, with descriptions of four new species (Carabidae, Lebiini, Pericalina)
• A remarkable new lebiine genus with two new species from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Lebiini)
• A taxonomic review of the pericaline ground-beetles in Taiwan, with descriptions of new species (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini)
• The beetle family Carabidae of Costa Rica: The genus Epikastea Liebke of the Plochonida Group, with new Neotropical species and notes on their way of life (Insecta: Coleoptera, Lebiini, Agrina)