Iceland
Guides
Amara quenseli
Quensel's seed-eating ground beetle
Amara quenseli is a seed-eating ground beetle in the family Carabidae. The species exhibits wing polymorphism, with populations containing macropterous (long-winged), brachypterous (short-winged), and intermediate forms. Two subspecies are recognized: A. q. quenseli and A. q. silvicola. It is one of the few carabid beetles known from Iceland, where its wing morphology has been studied in relation to habitat stability.
Heleomyza serrata
Heleomyza serrata is a small fly in the family Heleomyzidae, measuring 3–7 mm in body length. The species is distinguished by specific chaetotaxy: setae present on the propleura, multiple pairs of setae on the prothorax, and at most one hair on the mesopleura. Males possess distinctive genitalia with rudimentary aedeagus, unexpanded epandrium base, and surstyles that are much longer than the epandrium and evenly curved throughout their length.
Nebria gyllenhali
Nebria gyllenhali is a ground beetle in the family Carabidae found in Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The species exhibits leg-colour dimorphism, with populations containing both red-legged and black-legged individuals. In Iceland, the frequency of red-legged individuals correlates strongly with geographic and climatic variables, being lowest in the south and highest in the north and west. On the Faroes, the pattern is less distinct but shows highest frequencies in the south. The genetic basis of this dimorphism remains to be confirmed experimentally.