ground beetle pic

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
For me, a rarely seen sps of ground beetle, around here anyway, I just don't come across this one much and don't know the species.

 

beetleman

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Messages
2,874
very nice!it may be chlaenius sp. they come in the most awesome colors too. beautiful beetle,excellent find.
 

Athelas

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 19, 2011
Messages
48
Or maybe Carabus sp? But I'm not sure the elytron looks right...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interested in animal behavior? Visit The Birds and the Bees: Things you were
afraid to ask about the secret lives of animals. http://bird-n-bee.blogspot.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

Bugs In Cyberspace

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
721
Dicaelus sp.

I know somebody who has fairly regular access to these, but unfortunately so few people in this country care about beetles. This is sad because beetles can be very entertaining pets compared with other, shall we say, subterranean pets.
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
Please, BIC, anybody else, what do these eat? Are they more specialized eaters that other ground beetles. I don't see it eat moths, roaches, wounded crickets, ...or is it just not eating? I googled, didn't see anything about it but I didn't spend a lot of time looking either.

I read that it might be a snail eater(?) That might explain the elongated head to reach into the shell if that's the case. Well, it's not that elongated but kind of small, dahhh, don't know.
 
Last edited:

Deroplatys

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 13, 2008
Messages
688
A lot of beetles like snails, wont hurt to chuck a couple of small ones in :)
 

beetleman

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Messages
2,874
Dicaelus sp.

I know somebody who has fairly regular access to these, but unfortunately so few people in this country care about beetles. This is sad because beetles can be very entertaining pets compared with other, shall we say, subterranean pets.
that's it! i got mixed up with the other sp. ive kept them before,the purple color on these are amazing,they burrowed alot,i gave mine waxworms,mealworms,since they burrow also the beetles would consume them under the soil. the beetles like it semimiost aswell. yeah beetles are amazing insects:clap: so underated,but i'm glad we have some beetle admirers here:D
 

zonbonzovi

Creeping beneath you
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
3,346
I've had a lot of trouble keeping the snail eaters alive. They're extremely messy eaters & high moisture levels vs. ventilation is a bear. Slugs seemed to disappear faster than snails, but the gelatinous leftovers were annoying. Most frustrating was watching snails thrive while their predator brethren struggled to survive/wouldn't eat.
 

beetleman

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Messages
2,874
I've had a lot of trouble keeping the snail eaters alive. They're extremely messy eaters & high moisture levels vs. ventilation is a bear. Slugs seemed to disappear faster than snails, but the gelatinous leftovers were annoying. Most frustrating was watching snails thrive while their predator brethren struggled to survive/wouldn't eat.
i'm thinking maybe the snaileaters(scaph sp.) will take earthworms,that's what i was planning on trying when i get some,i wonder if they will take waxworms/mealworms,experimenting....always fun. i could imagine the messy slime from their meals.............hmmm :barf: ahh,i still love em:D

---------- Post added at 07:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:15 PM ----------

Well def a snail eater, it just finished one off.
thats awesome, you know the fish markets sell frozen snails(periwinkles) no slime to deal with,but ya gotta thaw them out.
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
This one did a pretty good job.


It used it's jaws to spiral down, breaking the shell as went.
 
Last edited:

Bugs In Cyberspace

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
721
Galopoheros,

You're totally one of my favorite posters on this forum. That snail account is fantastic! An uncommonly discussed species and a natural history/captive account. I love it!

ZBZ mentioned Scaphinotus. I took this photo on the last Quinault trip that you missed out on, last Fall (another coming up in mid-March, btw). They're group-feeding on trail-trampled banana slugs. (none of the photos I took came out that clearly, sorry).

Your beetle is about an inch long, Galapoheros?
 

Attachments

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
why thanya, thankya very muuuch:eek:. So many interesting things out there. You know what I think makes people oblivious to these kinds of things? ....size. I know it sounds simple but people have this issue with size and seeing what's going on, trivializing organisms that are little/small, it's something most people ignore, they think this way, for whatever reason. Today I was thinking of some kind of macro terr cam that could be controlled to track smaller inverts through a computer, to watch them on a big monitor. People are discovering that nervous systems and size are relative. Just because something is small doesn't mean it has less light going on upstairs, haha, there's a better way to say it:confused. Yeah it's about an inch long, I've been hoping a mated female out of curiosity. The odds of finding another one aren't good around here.
 

H. laoticus

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 11, 2009
Messages
1,017
It's hard for me to believe that other insects would eat snails and slugs, but those pics proved it lol. The next time I do a pit fall trap and catch some beetles I'll post it for you guys :) And yes, Galapoheros is the man!
 

bluefrogtat2

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
913
great thread,and agree galapoheros is one of the more informative posters and great to deal with too.
i have recently become addicted to america's beetles,this one is very intriguing.
great pics
andy
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
LOL, haha, I mean, LOL, no you don't:eek: anybody can find something weird when they have a lot of time on their hands like I do, sleeping til noon helps:D
 
Top