These fast moving large beetles are common predators in cotton fields. They occur in cotton fields throughout summer. Carab beetle adults hide in soil cracks and under loose soil and leaf debris during the day and hunt for prey at night. Beetles belonging to the family Carabidae are general predators which vary greatly in size and colour.

Identification: Adults are 15mm long with rows of pits running along the wing case; they have a hot-water-bottle-shaped body. If handled roughly they give off an unpleasant smell. Green carab beetles are dark metalic green and shiny with long slender legs and antennae. The larvae are predaceous, worm-like with well developed legs and jaws.

Lifecycle: Eggs are laid in soil or leaf litter. Eggs take up to a week to hatch and larvae go through a series of growth stages before pupating into adults. Beetles which breed in the spring typically overwinter as adults. Carabids that breed during the summer months tend to overwinter as larvae, and then finish their development to adults in the spring.

Habitat: These beetles have a wide range of habitats in urban areas, cropping areas and native vegetation. 

Targeted prey: This active beetle hunts caterpillars and other slow-moving prey. The larvae are also predaceous but live in the soil.

 
“Carab beetles generally hunt for prey at night and during the day hide in soil cracks and under loose soil and leaf debris.” 24mm Photo: P. Reid

 
Carab beetles have a wide range of habitats in urban areas, cropping areas and native vegetation.  Photo: C. Mares