Species Calleida viridipennis

Specific name means "Green wing."

One of 14 Nearctic species in the genus.

9-10 mm

Elongate, bright bluish-green, elytra can be purple, sometimes margined with copper. Antennae are dark ( piceous), except for segments (antennomeres) 1-3 and part of 4. Ventral surface piceous. (1)

Adults are often located in winter in deep leaf litter of White Oaks. They have also been reported under Pine bark and are occasionally collected at lights.

Reported March-April and July-August in South Carolina. (1)

The University of Florida "Featured Creatures" page for the Florida Tortoise Beetle describes that Tortoise Beetle's larval defense: construction a fecal shield effective against most predators. The page then states that the adult Ground Beetle Calleida viridipennis "is able to penetrate the larva's defense by chewing through the shield or by getting underneath it and prying it up."

Calleida punctata is slightly smaller (about 8 mm) and has an orange pronotum.

Cymindis limbatus also has coppery elytral margins but has a stouter build, and an overall dark brown or blackish color.

Green species of Lebia are considerably smaller (5-6 mm) and stout, not elongate.

Ciegler, p. 127 (1)

Ken Karns, "Calleida viridipennis (Say) (Coleoptera-Carabidae): Winter Habitat Observations," Ohio Coleopterist, Winter 2000.