Bronze Carabid

The Bronze Ground Beetle or European Ground Beetle, Carabus nemoralis, is a beneficial beetle in the Carabidae beetle family that hunts at night and feeds on snails and slugs–and eggs of slugs–as well as various insects and arthropods (including sowbugs, pillbugs, millipedes and centipedes).  It is also commonly called the “Bronze Carabid.”  Although it is native to Europe (and common in Iceland and Canada), it was introduced to North America over 150 years ago where it has been expanding its range ever since.  It is described as being “synanthropic,” meaning that it lives near and benefits from an association with humans and the habitats that people create around themselves (the cultivated ground in city parks and gardens, for example).  They are also found in woodlands in leaf litter and under stones and logs.  They breed in the spring or early summer and their eggs hatch in autumn of the same year.

Additional Photos and Information: Carabus nemoralis (NatureSpot – an educational site in the UK)