THE FIRST RECORD OF CARABUS (PROCERUS) SCABROSUS OLIVIER, 1790 (COLEOPTERA: CARABIDAE) IN SERBIA: PRESENT IN THE COUNTRY FOR OVER A DECADE
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Apr 14, 2026
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Abstract
Here we report the first verified record of the huge violet ground beetle Carabus (Procerus) scabrosus Olivier, 1790, one of Europe’s largest insects, from Serbia. A single adult male was collected in 2015 along the Nišava River near the village of Gradinje, close to the Bulgarian border. This finding represents an important faunistic contribution to the knowledge of Serbian entomofauna and provides evidence of a notable westward range expansion within the Balkans, where the species had previously been recorded only in Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. Recent observations on citizen science platforms from areas (Dimitrovgrad and Pirot) west of the confirmed site suggest that the species is already more widely distributed across southeastern Serbia. Potential pathways for the arrival of this new Serbian faunal element are also discussed. Finally, the study highlights the need for targeted field surveys to assess the species’ population status in Serbia and to consider its conservation under national legislation.
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Vesović, N., Ćurčić, S., Stojanović, K., & Novaković, B. (2026). THE FIRST RECORD OF CARABUS (PROCERUS) SCABROSUS OLIVIER, 1790 (COLEOPTERA: CARABIDAE) IN SERBIA: PRESENT IN THE COUNTRY FOR OVER A DECADE. Acta Entomologica Serbica, 31(1). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19455351
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Copyright: © 2019 The ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SERBIA Staff. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
References
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Berlov, E. Y., & Berlov, O. E. (1997). Zametki o krymskoi zhuzhelitse Carabus (Procerus) scabrosus tauricus (Coleoptera, Carabidae). Vestnik of the Irkutsk State Agricultural Academy, 7, 37–40. [In Russian].
Brigadirenko, V. V. (2003). Fauna zhuzhelits (Coleoptera, Carabidae) Dnepropetrovskoi oblasti. Problemy ekologii i okhrany prirody tekhnogennogo landshafta, 3, 77–86. [In Russian].
Březina, B., Huber, C., & Marggi, W. (2017). Subtribe Carabina Latreille, 1802. In I. Löbl, & D. Löbl (Eds.), Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 1: Archostemata–Myxophaga–Adephaga. Revised and Updated Edition, 70–207. Leiden: Brill.
Calatayud, J., Rodríguez, M. Á., Molina-Venegas, R., Leo, M., Horreo, J. L., & Hortal, J. (2019). Pleistocene climate change and the formation of regional species pools. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1905), 20190291. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0291
Cavazzuti, P. (1989). Monografia del genere Procerus (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Carabini). Savigliano: Associazione Naturalistica Piemontese, 200 pp.
Ćurčić, S. B., Brajković, M. M., & Ćurčić, B. P. M. (2007). The Carabids of Serbia. Monographs, Vol. 11. Belgrade-Vienna: Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade; Committee for Karst and Speleology, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts; Department of Conservation Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna & UNESCO MAB Committee of Serbia; 1083 pp.
Deuve, T. (2021). Carabus of the World. Collection Systématique. Conflans-Sainte-Honorine: Magellanes, 652 pp.
Đurđević, V., Vuković, A., & Vujadinović Mandić, M. (2018). Climate Changes Observed in Serbia and Future Climate Projections Based on Different Scenarios of Future Emissions. Belgrade: United Nations Development Programme Serbia, 20 pp.
Golemanski, V., Beron, P., Popov, A., Popov, V., Beshkov, V., Zhivkov, M., Spasov, N., Michev, T., & Deltshev, C. (Eds.) (2015). Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria. Vol. 2. Animals. Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences & Ministry of Environment and Waters of Bulgaria, 383 pp.
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Guéorguiev, B. (2004). Adephagous and some staphyliniform beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) in the Eastern Rhodopes (Bulgaria and Greece). In P. Beron, & A. Popov (Eds.), Biodiversity of Bulgaria. 2. Biodiversity of Eastern Rhodopes (Bulgaria and Greece), 379–411. Sofia-Moscow: Pensoft Publishers & National Museum of Natural History.
Guéorguiev, B. (2007). Biogeography of the endemic Carabidae (Coleoptera) in the Central and Eastern Balkan Peninsula. In V. Fet, & A. Popov (Eds.), Biogeography and Ecology of Bulgaria. Monographiae Biologicae, 82, 297–356. Berlin: Springer.
Guéorguiev, B. (2008). New data on the ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of Serbia. Historia Naturalis Bulgarica, 19, 73–92.
Guéorguiev, B., & Lobo, J. M. (2006). Adephagous beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Adephaga) in the Western Rhodopes (Bulgaria and Greece). In P. Beron (Ed.), Biodiversity of Bulgaria. 3. Biodiversity of Western Rhodopes (Bulgaria and Greece) I, 283–346. Sofia-Moscow: Pensoft Publishers & National Museum of Natural History.
Guéorguiev, V. B., & Guéorguiev, B. V. (1995). Catalogue of the Ground-Beetles of Bulgaria (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Sofia-Moscow: Pensoft Publishers, 279 pp.
Ilić, K., Tot, I., Vesović, N., & Vujić, M. (2025). One more allochthonous praying mantis in Serbian fauna: Ameles spallanzania (Rossi, 1792) (Mantodea: Amelidae). Acta Entomologica Serbica, 30(2), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17901271
Kostova, R., & Guéorguiev, B. (2016). The ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of the Strandzha Mountain and adjacent coastal territories (Bulgaria and Turkey). Biodiversity Data Journal, 4, e8135. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e8135
Lövei, G. L., & Sunderland, K. D. (1996). Ecology and behavior of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Annual Review of Entomology, 41, 231–256. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.41.010196.001311
Nadaždin, B., & Šeat, J. (2022). New data on Perillus bioculatus in Serbia. Acta Entomologica Serbica, 27(2), 83–90. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7225252
Penić, D. (2020). Carabus scabrosus observed in Pirot, Serbia [iNaturalist observation]. iNaturalist. Retrieved from https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/44917359 (Accessed 12 December 2025).
Petrović-Obradović, O., Smiljanić, D., & Čkrkić Matijević, M. (2020). Ophraella communa has arrived in Serbia. Acta Entomologica Serbica, 25(2), 101–104. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4230314
Popović, M., Vasić, N., Koren, T., Burić, I., Živanović, N., Kulijer, D., & Golubović, A. (2020). Biologer: an open platform for collecting biodiversity data. Biodiversity Data Journal, 8, e53014. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.8.e53014
Puchkov, A. V. (2009). Slymakoid krymskyi, turun krymskyi. In I. A. Akimov (Ed.), Chervona knyha Ukrainy. Tvarynnyi svit, 93. Kyiv: Globalconsalting.
Teofilova, T. M. (2017). Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and some other invertebrates from the managed nature reserves “Dolna Topchiya” and “Balabana” (Lower Valley of the River Tundzha, Bulgaria). Ecologia Balkanica, 9(1), 63–77.
Teofilova, T. M. (2019a). Errata: A contribution to the study of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Western Rhodope Mountains (Bulgaria), published in J. BioSci. Biotech. 2017, 6(3): 203-209. Journal of BioScience and Biotechnology, 8(1), 39–44.
Teofilova, T. M. (2019b). Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from sparsely vegetated land ecosystems in Bulgaria. North-Western Journal of Zoology, 15(1), 30–41.
Teofilova, T. (2021). New data about Bulgarian ground beetles from subfamilies Nebriinae, Carabinae and Cicindelinae (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Historia Naturalis Bulgarica, 43(6), 79–86. https://doi.org/10.48027/hnb.43.061
Teofilova, T. M. (2022a). Ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities and microhabitat diversity in a mountain village house yard – a case study from the Western Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria. Zoology and Ecology, 32(1), 153–164. https://doi.org/10.35513/21658005.2022.2.8
Teofilova, T. M. (2022b). Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) found in the city and surroundings of Plovdiv (central Bulgaria). In I. Mollov, D. Georgiev, & O. Todorov (Eds.), Faunistic Diversity of the City of Plovdiv (Bulgaria), Vol. 2 – Vertebrates & Invertebrates, Bulletin of the Natural History Museum - Plovdiv, Supplement 2, 65–81 Plovdiv: Regional Natural History Museum - Plovdiv & Plovdiv University Press.
Teofilova, T. (2025). New records of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from the Western Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria. ZooNotes, 278, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.69085/zn20250278
Teofilova, T. M., & Boetzl, F. A. (2024). A contribution to Bulgarian ground beetle fauna (Coleoptera: Carabidae) with the first record of Agonum carbonarium Dejean, 1828 for the country. Historia Naturalis Bulgarica, 46(8), 215–226. https://doi.org/10.48027/hnb.46.082
Teofilova, T. M., & Kodzhabashev, N. D. (2020a). Ecological, faunistic and zoogeographical notes on the ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from the Eastern Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria. Forestry Ideas, 26(1), 77–96.
Teofilova, T., & Kodzhabashev, N. (2020b). Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from the Sarnena Sredna Gora Mts. In D. Georgiev, D. Bechev, & V. Yancheva (Eds.), Fauna of Sarnena Sredna Gora Mts., Part 1, ZooNotes, Supplement 9, 95–114. Plovdiv: Plovdiv University Press.
Turin, H., Penev, L., & Casale, A. (Eds.) (2003). The Genus Carabus in Europe: A Synthesis. Fauna Europaea Evertebrata, Vol. 2. Sofia-Moscow: Pensoft Publishers, 511 pp.
Vesović, N., Stevanović, N., & Ćurčić, S. (2025). The Ground Beetles (Carabidae, Coleoptera) of the Đerdap National Park. Donji Milanovac-Belgrade: Public Enterprise “Đerdap National Park” & University of Belgrade - Faculty of Biology, 321 pp.
Volovnik, S. V., & Suchkov, S. I. (2018). The huge violet ground beetle Carabus (Procerus) scabrosus crimeanus Mazzi & Cavazzuti (Coleoptera: Carabidae) was found outside of the Crimea. Journal of Insect Biodiversity, 8(3), 52–56. https://doi.org/10.12976/jib/2018.08.3.2
Vujić, M. D., Ivković, S., Rekecki, T., Krstić, D., Stanković, V., Đurić, M., & Tot, I. (2021). A first record of the alien mantis species Hierodula tenuidentata (Mantodea: Mantidae) in Serbia. Acta Entomologica Serbica, 26(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4621135
Žikić, V., Petrović-Obradović, O., Stanković, S. S., Ilić Milošević, M., Šćiban, M., & Protić, L. (2025). Allochthonous insects in Serbia: data published during the 21st century. Acta Entomologica Serbica, 30(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16949174
Bartenev, A. F., & Bartenev, A. V. (1997). Zametki o nasekomykh iz Krasnoi knigi Ukrainy: krymskaia zhuzhelitsa (Carabus (Scabrosus) procerus tauricus (Bon.)). The Kharkiv Entomological Society Gazette, 5(1), 102–106. [In Russian].
Berlov, E. Y., & Berlov, O. E. (1997). Zametki o krymskoi zhuzhelitse Carabus (Procerus) scabrosus tauricus (Coleoptera, Carabidae). Vestnik of the Irkutsk State Agricultural Academy, 7, 37–40. [In Russian].
Brigadirenko, V. V. (2003). Fauna zhuzhelits (Coleoptera, Carabidae) Dnepropetrovskoi oblasti. Problemy ekologii i okhrany prirody tekhnogennogo landshafta, 3, 77–86. [In Russian].
Březina, B., Huber, C., & Marggi, W. (2017). Subtribe Carabina Latreille, 1802. In I. Löbl, & D. Löbl (Eds.), Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 1: Archostemata–Myxophaga–Adephaga. Revised and Updated Edition, 70–207. Leiden: Brill.
Calatayud, J., Rodríguez, M. Á., Molina-Venegas, R., Leo, M., Horreo, J. L., & Hortal, J. (2019). Pleistocene climate change and the formation of regional species pools. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1905), 20190291. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0291
Cavazzuti, P. (1989). Monografia del genere Procerus (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Carabini). Savigliano: Associazione Naturalistica Piemontese, 200 pp.
Ćurčić, S. B., Brajković, M. M., & Ćurčić, B. P. M. (2007). The Carabids of Serbia. Monographs, Vol. 11. Belgrade-Vienna: Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade; Committee for Karst and Speleology, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts; Department of Conservation Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna & UNESCO MAB Committee of Serbia; 1083 pp.
Deuve, T. (2021). Carabus of the World. Collection Systématique. Conflans-Sainte-Honorine: Magellanes, 652 pp.
Đurđević, V., Vuković, A., & Vujadinović Mandić, M. (2018). Climate Changes Observed in Serbia and Future Climate Projections Based on Different Scenarios of Future Emissions. Belgrade: United Nations Development Programme Serbia, 20 pp.
Golemanski, V., Beron, P., Popov, A., Popov, V., Beshkov, V., Zhivkov, M., Spasov, N., Michev, T., & Deltshev, C. (Eds.) (2015). Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria. Vol. 2. Animals. Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences & Ministry of Environment and Waters of Bulgaria, 383 pp.
Governor of Krasnodar Krai (2025). Decree No. 34: On Amendments to the Decree of December 22, 2017 No. 1029 “On Approval of the List of Animal Taxa Included in the Red Data Book of Krasnodar Krai” [Government Decree]. Krasnodar: Krasnodar Krai. Retrieved from https://krasnodarpravo.ru/postanovlenie/2025/02/05/n-34/ (Accessed 12 December 2025).
Guéorguiev, B. (2004). Adephagous and some staphyliniform beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) in the Eastern Rhodopes (Bulgaria and Greece). In P. Beron, & A. Popov (Eds.), Biodiversity of Bulgaria. 2. Biodiversity of Eastern Rhodopes (Bulgaria and Greece), 379–411. Sofia-Moscow: Pensoft Publishers & National Museum of Natural History.
Guéorguiev, B. (2007). Biogeography of the endemic Carabidae (Coleoptera) in the Central and Eastern Balkan Peninsula. In V. Fet, & A. Popov (Eds.), Biogeography and Ecology of Bulgaria. Monographiae Biologicae, 82, 297–356. Berlin: Springer.
Guéorguiev, B. (2008). New data on the ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of Serbia. Historia Naturalis Bulgarica, 19, 73–92.
Guéorguiev, B., & Lobo, J. M. (2006). Adephagous beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Adephaga) in the Western Rhodopes (Bulgaria and Greece). In P. Beron (Ed.), Biodiversity of Bulgaria. 3. Biodiversity of Western Rhodopes (Bulgaria and Greece) I, 283–346. Sofia-Moscow: Pensoft Publishers & National Museum of Natural History.
Guéorguiev, V. B., & Guéorguiev, B. V. (1995). Catalogue of the Ground-Beetles of Bulgaria (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Sofia-Moscow: Pensoft Publishers, 279 pp.
Ilić, K., Tot, I., Vesović, N., & Vujić, M. (2025). One more allochthonous praying mantis in Serbian fauna: Ameles spallanzania (Rossi, 1792) (Mantodea: Amelidae). Acta Entomologica Serbica, 30(2), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17901271
Kostova, R., & Guéorguiev, B. (2016). The ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of the Strandzha Mountain and adjacent coastal territories (Bulgaria and Turkey). Biodiversity Data Journal, 4, e8135. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e8135
Lövei, G. L., & Sunderland, K. D. (1996). Ecology and behavior of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Annual Review of Entomology, 41, 231–256. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.41.010196.001311
Nadaždin, B., & Šeat, J. (2022). New data on Perillus bioculatus in Serbia. Acta Entomologica Serbica, 27(2), 83–90. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7225252
Penić, D. (2020). Carabus scabrosus observed in Pirot, Serbia [iNaturalist observation]. iNaturalist. Retrieved from https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/44917359 (Accessed 12 December 2025).
Petrović-Obradović, O., Smiljanić, D., & Čkrkić Matijević, M. (2020). Ophraella communa has arrived in Serbia. Acta Entomologica Serbica, 25(2), 101–104. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4230314
Popović, M., Vasić, N., Koren, T., Burić, I., Živanović, N., Kulijer, D., & Golubović, A. (2020). Biologer: an open platform for collecting biodiversity data. Biodiversity Data Journal, 8, e53014. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.8.e53014
Puchkov, A. V. (2009). Slymakoid krymskyi, turun krymskyi. In I. A. Akimov (Ed.), Chervona knyha Ukrainy. Tvarynnyi svit, 93. Kyiv: Globalconsalting.
Teofilova, T. M. (2017). Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and some other invertebrates from the managed nature reserves “Dolna Topchiya” and “Balabana” (Lower Valley of the River Tundzha, Bulgaria). Ecologia Balkanica, 9(1), 63–77.
Teofilova, T. M. (2019a). Errata: A contribution to the study of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Western Rhodope Mountains (Bulgaria), published in J. BioSci. Biotech. 2017, 6(3): 203-209. Journal of BioScience and Biotechnology, 8(1), 39–44.
Teofilova, T. M. (2019b). Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from sparsely vegetated land ecosystems in Bulgaria. North-Western Journal of Zoology, 15(1), 30–41.
Teofilova, T. (2021). New data about Bulgarian ground beetles from subfamilies Nebriinae, Carabinae and Cicindelinae (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Historia Naturalis Bulgarica, 43(6), 79–86. https://doi.org/10.48027/hnb.43.061
Teofilova, T. M. (2022a). Ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) communities and microhabitat diversity in a mountain village house yard – a case study from the Western Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria. Zoology and Ecology, 32(1), 153–164. https://doi.org/10.35513/21658005.2022.2.8
Teofilova, T. M. (2022b). Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) found in the city and surroundings of Plovdiv (central Bulgaria). In I. Mollov, D. Georgiev, & O. Todorov (Eds.), Faunistic Diversity of the City of Plovdiv (Bulgaria), Vol. 2 – Vertebrates & Invertebrates, Bulletin of the Natural History Museum - Plovdiv, Supplement 2, 65–81 Plovdiv: Regional Natural History Museum - Plovdiv & Plovdiv University Press.
Teofilova, T. (2025). New records of ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from the Western Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria. ZooNotes, 278, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.69085/zn20250278
Teofilova, T. M., & Boetzl, F. A. (2024). A contribution to Bulgarian ground beetle fauna (Coleoptera: Carabidae) with the first record of Agonum carbonarium Dejean, 1828 for the country. Historia Naturalis Bulgarica, 46(8), 215–226. https://doi.org/10.48027/hnb.46.082
Teofilova, T. M., & Kodzhabashev, N. D. (2020a). Ecological, faunistic and zoogeographical notes on the ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from the Eastern Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria. Forestry Ideas, 26(1), 77–96.
Teofilova, T., & Kodzhabashev, N. (2020b). Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from the Sarnena Sredna Gora Mts. In D. Georgiev, D. Bechev, & V. Yancheva (Eds.), Fauna of Sarnena Sredna Gora Mts., Part 1, ZooNotes, Supplement 9, 95–114. Plovdiv: Plovdiv University Press.
Turin, H., Penev, L., & Casale, A. (Eds.) (2003). The Genus Carabus in Europe: A Synthesis. Fauna Europaea Evertebrata, Vol. 2. Sofia-Moscow: Pensoft Publishers, 511 pp.
Vesović, N., Stevanović, N., & Ćurčić, S. (2025). The Ground Beetles (Carabidae, Coleoptera) of the Đerdap National Park. Donji Milanovac-Belgrade: Public Enterprise “Đerdap National Park” & University of Belgrade - Faculty of Biology, 321 pp.
Volovnik, S. V., & Suchkov, S. I. (2018). The huge violet ground beetle Carabus (Procerus) scabrosus crimeanus Mazzi & Cavazzuti (Coleoptera: Carabidae) was found outside of the Crimea. Journal of Insect Biodiversity, 8(3), 52–56. https://doi.org/10.12976/jib/2018.08.3.2
Vujić, M. D., Ivković, S., Rekecki, T., Krstić, D., Stanković, V., Đurić, M., & Tot, I. (2021). A first record of the alien mantis species Hierodula tenuidentata (Mantodea: Mantidae) in Serbia. Acta Entomologica Serbica, 26(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4621135
Žikić, V., Petrović-Obradović, O., Stanković, S. S., Ilić Milošević, M., Šćiban, M., & Protić, L. (2025). Allochthonous insects in Serbia: data published during the 21st century. Acta Entomologica Serbica, 30(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16949174