Species Calosoma sycophanta - Caterpillar Searcher

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Internet References · Works Cited

Forest Caterpillar Hunter Calosoma sycophanta - Calosoma sycophanta

Metallic Green Beetle carrying egg - Calosoma sycophanta

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)

No Taxon (Subgenus Calosoma)

Species sycophanta (Caterpillar Searcher)

Other Common Names

Forest Caterpillar Hunter

Explanation of Names

Calosoma sycophanta (Linnaeus 1758)

Range

native to w. Palaearctic (east to Siberia)(1); introduced intentionally and established in e.US (so.ME-MD-WV-w.PA)(2)

Food

Spongy moth larvae and pupae are especially attractive but they will feed on other species of insects.(3)

Life Cycle

Adults spend winter in the soil. Emerge in June and hunt for spongy moth caterpillars (Lymantria dispar). Its life history is closely synchronized with that of spongy moths and this is why it is thought that it is not likely to cause damage to other caterpillars.

Larvae pupate in the ground.(3)

Remarks

Introduced in 1905 to control spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) and Euproctis chrysorrhoea(2)

See Also

C. aurocinctum (restricted to TX)

Internet References

Michigan State U.

Fact sheet (U. of Wisconsin)

Works Cited

1.	Coleoptera Poloniae

2.	Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera, Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico Bousquet Y. 2012. ZooKeys 245: 1–1722.

3.	Eastern Forest Insects Whiteford L. Baker. 1972. U.S. Department of Agriculture · Forest Service.

Contributed by Charley Eiseman on 19 December, 2008 - 11:21pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, urtica, Phillip Harpootlian, v belov, Harsi S. Parker, Marci Hess, PaleoJon
Last updated 16 August, 2024 - 6:47pm

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