Ground Beetle - Calosoma? - Calosoma

Calosoma spec.

from the relation of pronotum to elytra, I think I can be sure about the genus.

… margarethe brummermann, 2 June, 2008 - 12:24pm

nice

Very nice pictures, thank you for the close ups, in beetles a view of the ventral side is also very helpful for IDing, if you happen to have one it would make a lovely collection for the beetle page. If I make a few Educated guesses about the underside it does indeed key out to Carabidae, the ground beetles, however, moving beyond that will prove difficult as they are the second largest family of beetles in North America. I don't have a key for them, but someone may.

… Darcie Clements, 2 June, 2008 - 9:14am

Ventral is the one view I don

Ventral is the one view I don't have. As a general rule, I prefer to avoid picking up or flipping over live bugs. I want to disturb them as little as possible, plus some of them bite. :-)

… Elliotte Rusty Harold, 2 June, 2008 - 10:16am

I hear you on that one. I us

I hear you on that one. I usually bring a clear plastic container when I go bugging so if I hit a beetle I can scoop it up and get a glimps, but I'd still rather avoid it.

… Darcie Clements, 3 June, 2008 - 12:09pm

Well lit overhead perpendicular shot of entire beetle

is most important for carabid identification, followed by a perpendicular close-up of pronotum (thorax). Otherwise, I'm reluctant to make a confident identification to species or even genus level. Even with good photos however, a large part of the western carabid fauna remains a mystery as compared to the well known eastern fauna which is blessed with excellent identification keys.

… Peter Messer, 2 June, 2008 - 1:34pm