Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

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Upcoming Events

National Moth Week was July 19-27, and the Summer 2025 gathering in Louisiana, July 19-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Genus Calosoma - Caterpillar Hunter Beetles

Representative Images

Fiery Searcher? - Calosoma scrutator Black Ground Beetle - Calosoma peregrinator Long-Horned? - Calosoma peregrinator unidentified beetle - Calosoma peregrinator Hitch hiker on Callisthenes calidus is? - Calosoma calidum Callisthenes calidus - Calosoma calidum - male Fiery Searcher - Calosoma scrutator Calosoma peregrinator

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Adephaga
Family Carabidae (Ground Beetles)
Subfamily Carabinae
Tribe Carabini
Genus Calosoma (Caterpillar Hunter Beetles)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

The classification used in the guide follows Bousquet (2012)(1)

Explanation of Names

Calosoma Weber 1801
From Greek kalos (καλος) 'pretty, beautiful' + soma (σωμα) 'body'

Numbers

~40 spp. in 9 subgenera in our area(1), 125 spp. in 19 subgenera total(2)

Size

our spp. 13–35 mm(2)

Identification

keys in (3)

Range

worldwide, incl. much of NA, more diverse in the south

Works Cited

1.Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico
Bousquet Y. 2012. ZooKeys 245: 1–1722.
2.Bruschi C. (2010‒2020) Calosoma of the world
3.North American caterpillar hunters of the genera Calosoma and Callisthenes (Coleoptera, Carabidae)
Gidaspow, T. 1959. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 116: 225-343.
Contributed by Cotinis on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by john and jane balaban, Phillip Harpootlian, Bbarnd, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, Peter Messer, v belov, KenW, PaleoJon
Last updated 15 April, 2024 - 6:45pm

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