Ship-ballast-introduction
Guides
Bembidion nigropiceum
Bembidion nigropiceum is a small, flightless ground beetle native to Europe, introduced to Massachusetts in the late 1800s via ship ballast. It occupies a highly specialized intertidal habitat in coarse gravel at the high-tide line. The species was rediscovered in 2007–2008 on Boston Harbor Islands after being presumed extinct in North America since 1897. In Great Britain, it is considered Nationally Scarce and protected under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan due to habitat loss.