Blue-violet forest beetle
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Blue-violet forest beetle ( Carabus problematicus ) |
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| Carabus problematicus | ||||||||||||
| Autumn , 1786 |
The blue-violet forest beetle ( Carabus problematicus ) is a beetle of the real ground beetle ( Carabus ).
features
The blue-violet forest beetle reaches a body length of 20 to 30 millimeters and is one of the largest species of beetle in Europe. Its body, in particular the elytra and the pronotum are colored bright blue to blue-black. The elytra are longitudinally ribbed and provided with rows of chains, which are, however, only relatively indistinct.
distribution
The beetle is distributed over large areas of Europe and is mostly common, especially in Central and Southwestern Europe. It becomes rare east of the Elbe and can only be detected in isolated occurrences. Its distribution area extends beyond the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia . It lives mainly in the low mountain ranges and in higher mountain areas and can be found up to the dwarf shrub level.
Way of life
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The blue-violet forest beetle lives in a wide variety of coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests, including hedges and drained, wooded bog areas. In higher mountain areas and in Northern Europe it prefers dry areas, where it is classified as xerophilic . The animals can be found under stones, in dead wood stumps , lying tree trunks, under loose bark and mosses overgrown with trees .
Like most large ground beetles, the blue-violet forest ground beetle is a predator that feeds primarily on other insects and their larvae as well as snails and worms. It is active at twilight and can be found from May to September. Hibernation takes place as an imago or larva , depending on the location . The breeding time is also dependent on the temperature.
gallery
Blue-violet forest beetle in North Brabant
Blue-violet forest beetle with damaged elytra
literature
- Ekkehard Wachmann , Ralph Platen, Dieter Barndt: Ground beetles - observation, way of life . Naturbuch Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-125-7 .
