Ground+Beetles+(Carabidae)

=Ground Beetles (Carabidae)= Fig. 1: //Pterostilchus melanarius//, the common black ground beetle

Carabidae is the most diverse family of Adephaga and has colonized almost every terrestrial habitat excluding dessert. Most of the species in this family are predators but as a group they feed on plants, animals and they are also scavengers. Some have elegant morphologies helping them consume prey such as invertebrates, allowing them to prey upon organisms such as snails. In North America some of these beetles were introduced from Europe to help kill common pests such as insects and slugs. Carabidae play a major role in agroecosystems by helping suppress pest populations and assisting with the mortality of weed seeds which is the most costly pest in North America agriculture (7).
 * Description**

During the day they mainly hide underneath logs, stones, leave debris and hunt at night because the food source is abundant (1). The majority of the species of this family prey upon other insects as their food resource, but there are few who feed on pollen, berries, and seeds. Most larvae is predatory, but some are parasitoids and herbivores (6). A few species can detect chemical cues from springtails, mollusks, and aphids which amplifies their ability to catch their prey (Lovei and Sunderland 1996).


 * Taxonomy**
 * Kingdom: Animalia
 * Phylum: Arthropoda
 * Class: Insecta
 * Order: Coleoptera
 * Suborder: Adephaga
 * Family:Carabidae


 * Physical Features**
 * legs adapted to running
 * abdomen made of 6 sternites, except some which have 8 sternites
 * pro-, meso-, and metafemora are identical, except for their sometimes varying length
 * tarsae always have 5 segments, hind trochanters enlarged
 * mouthparts prognathous
 * antennae always linear and never clubbed, inserted laterally between eye and mandibular scrobe

Fig. 2: Carabidae are part of holometabola which undergo complete metamorphosis, meaning they go through four stages: egg, larva, pupa, adult
 * Life Cycle/Behavior**

Ground beetles on average produce one generation per year. Once a mate is found the female will lay between 30 and 600 oval eggs in a moist protected area such as within the soil or in a layer of plant residues on the soil surface (7). Carabidae larvae are typically large-jawed active predators found living in same habitats as adults, but some act as parasitoids developing on a single pupae of another beetle (1). Parental care has been seen in a few species that produce small liters protecting their offspring who are vulnerable to predators (7).

1. Figure 1. Ground beetle photograph < http://narragansettpestcontrol.com/pest-information/ground-beetle/
 * References**

2. Figure 2. Life Cycle of the Common Ground Beetle 

3. Marshall, Stephen A. "Beetles." //Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity. // Buffalo, NY: Firefly (U.S.), 2006. 258-59. Print.

4."Family Carabidae." //Family Carabidae : Description //. Northeastern France Woodlands Coleoptera Ecological Atlas, 22 Sept. 2010. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.

5. Lovei, Gabor L., and Keith D. Sunderland. "Biology and Behavior of Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)." //Annual Review of Entomology // 31.231-256 (1996): 231. Print.

6. Bartlett, Troy. "Family Carabidae- Ground Beetles." //Bug Guide //. Iowa State University Entomology, 16 Feb. 2004. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.

7. Calvalho, Corey, Tara Pisani, and Mary Barbercheck. "Ground and Tiger Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)." //Entomology (Penn State University) //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">. The Pennsylvania State Univsersity, 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.