Pre-imaginal stages of Cychrus schmidti Chaudoir, 1837, and Cychrus semigranosus Palliardi, 1825, with a key to the larvae of the European Cychrus species (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

Among the several European and Asiatic species belonging to the genus Cychrus Fabricius, the pre-imaginal morphology is known just for a few of them. In the present work the larval morphology of Cychrus schmidti and C. semigranosus is described. The morphology of the first species is unique due to its chaetotaxy, which is completely different from that of all of the other Cychrus larvae described so far. The latter are characterized by completely glabrous thoracic and abdominal tergites. In C. schmidti, the tergites are covered by several long setae, a feature never recorded in other Carabidae Carabinae species. Basing on actual knowledge, a preliminary identification key of the European larvae of the Cychrus genus is provided. In the present contribution, the pupa of C. schmidti is also described; this is the first pupa of a species belonging to the Cychrus genus to be depicted. Moreover, new data on the biology of C. schmidti were collected from a laboratory breeding programme.