The ground beetle lives in the soil. Is the ground beetle a beneficial or harmful bug? About the taste preferences of ground beetles

The common ground beetle is a family of beetles, which includes over 25 thousand species in the world and more than 3 thousand species in Russia. The insect belongs to the order Coleoptera, up to 60 mm long, and has different color options from dark to metallic tint. Many representatives of this species practically do not fly, but they run extremely fast, improving this ability from generation to generation.

What do beetles eat, what do representatives of different species look like, are they beneficial or harmful? More on this below.

Where do ground beetles live?

The common garden ground beetle, regardless of its species, lives in or on the top layer of soil; moreover, in some cases it is even capable of crawling into trees. With a relatively low number, the order of insects feels equally comfortable in a wide variety of conditions.

The order may include several species of beetles, some of which, under the influence of stress, are capable of secreting a toxic liquid. Ground beetle larvae also have amazing abilities. They all have a separate head, long legs, antennae and two tail appendages. The larvae live under plants or shallow in the soil.

What do beetles eat and how do they develop?

The common ground beetle most often feeds on a number of insects and mollusks. These include:

• slugs;
• snails;
• worms, etc.

The diet also includes food of plant origin and varieties of phytophages.

A large subfamily of bread beetles and Crimean ground beetles develop, reaching maturity within several years. Smaller representatives of the species, the granular ground beetle, reach peak maturity in one year.

On average, beetles live for about two years, overwintering in the plants left over from the season, laying 100 eggs in well-groomed soil enriched with useful substances.

Ground beetle - consumer and destroyer: varieties

Different types of beetles have distinctive abilities. Some of them have three eyelids, others two. Larval development takes place within three weeks in small species and up to several months in large ones.

Predatory beetles become especially active at nightfall, while during the day they camouflage themselves in the shade of plants. Insects become especially active in cloudy weather.

According to the type of seasonal activity, beetles are divided into:

• spring-autumn;
• spring-summer;
• summer

The first - spring-autumn ones demonstrate increased activity precisely in the spring-autumn period. Spring-summer representatives of beetles are active in spring and summer; accordingly, summer is the optimal time of year for summer ground beetles.

Various peaks of activity in beetles primarily depend on the frequency and characteristics of reproduction.

In addition to seasonal activity, the ground beetle (the photo below will not allow you to make a mistake) in the category of obligate predator is divided into several small species:

• purple;
• golden;
• emerald;
• shiny, etc.

Each of them has its own description, which allows you to distinguish the insect from the rest. For example, the emerald beetle in adulthood can have a body from 2 to 8 cm long. Insect larvae are distinguished by their elongated elongated shape; they are mostly predators, in some cases herbivores.

The emerald ground beetle pupates in the soil. It feeds mainly on the larvae of other insects, worms and mollusks. Some of their representatives happily feast on vegetation under stones or boards. These types of beetles are found in different parts of the world, do not harm humans, destroying many harmful insects in the garden. A distinctive feature of the caterpillar is its bright color with a pearlescent tint.

Traditionally, the golden ground beetle is found in European countries, Russia and some countries of Central Asia. The beetle feeds on the gypsy moth, one of the garden and vegetable garden pests.

The body length of an adult reaches 30 mm, the body color is green or bronze with a hint of gold. The lower part is black, the front part is bright greenish. The beetle's favorite soils are sandy-clayey soils; it lives mainly in gardens and fields, as well as in meadows and arable lands. The beetle larvae camouflage themselves under stones.

About the taste preferences of ground beetles

Different representatives of this species choose different food options for themselves. Some prefer caterpillars and butterfly pupae, others feed on sawfly larvae. Moreover, some representatives of beetles are capable of eating the larvae of harmful turtles.

The most predatory are the common purple and golden ground beetles described above. Insects feast on a variety of representatives of families, mainly choosing individuals with a soft integumentary body.

Herbivorous beetles are represented by the genera Amara and Ophonus, which contain a large family. Its representatives feed on the remains of leaves, grass, vegetables and do not hunt living organisms.

An interesting option is mixed types of ground beetles, which are capable of consuming both plant and animal foods. An example of a mixed type is the ground beetle Ophonus pubescens. At the beginning of the season, it feeds exclusively on small insects, and from the moment the grain ripens, it switches to plant food, causing noticeable damage to crops.

Visually, beetles are predators and adherents of plant foods are different. The former have a flat head and an elongated body, curved mandibles of a pointed type. Their physical development allows them to easily catch and hold prey, partly due to the presence of powerful running legs.

Herbivorous beetles, on the contrary, are less active during movement, do not have long legs, and are distinguished by a spherical head and mandibles with a wide base for breaking food into small parts.

Dangerous type of ground beetle - bread beetle: how to fight

The grain ground beetle is known for its desire to feast on grain seedlings, gnawing them almost to the ground. Such insects can and must be fought, otherwise grain crops will not produce the expected harvest.

To protect plants from the invasion of the bread beetle, they use an integrated approach, using several effective methods at once, ranging from agrotechnical to chemical. Particular attention is paid to compliance with the technology of growing different types of crops, with an emphasis on creating favorable conditions for the development and growth of plants and uncomfortable conditions for the ground beetle larva to reach the maturation stage.

You can fight against the grain pest in the following ways:

• choosing the right fields for sowing;
• making a choice in favor of quality seeds;
• using the right mineral fertilizers and growth stimulants;
• practicing separate harvesting and harvesting in a short time;
• carefully removing straw and grain without spilling it across the field;
• planning stubble peeling immediately after harvesting;
• practicing early deep plowing of the soil.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that the yellow beetles, garden beetles and golden ground beetles are especially common in Russia. All of them are from the family of predators, so they practically do not harm the plantings. Scientists conducted an interesting experiment with beetles of this species. They placed a cockchafer in the predator's path. After several attempts to steal the find, the ground beetle realized that it could not cope alone and soon brought help - the same beetles.

Description. Beetle 6-8 mm long. The internal main impressions of the pronotum are weakly punctate. The grooves of the elytra are not deepened towards the apex; their seventh interval at the apex has three points. Shortened parescutaneous groove on the elytra without a setae-bearing pore. The lower legs are yellow. In other respects, it is similar to the seed dull.
The larva is up to 11 mm long, campodeoid in shape. The head and pronotum are brownish, the remaining segments are light gray. The second antennal segment is slightly longer than the fourth, the first segment is less than 2.5 times longer than its thickness, with 6 teeth, the space between the median teeth is narrower than the width of one tooth. The visible suture, slightly shorter than the fourth antennal segment, was not changed.
Lifestyle. According to the nature of distribution among biotopes and daily activity, it is similar to the seed grass. Beetles hibernate. Their emergence from wintering grounds begins when the average daily air temperature is above 5° (from the beginning of March in the Steppe and from the beginning of April in the Forest-steppe). In the forest-steppe conditions, beetles are most often found (during emergence from pupae) in May and September.
Panthophagous beetles and larvae. In addition to the above plants, more than 10 species of invertebrate animals were noted in their food, including pea aphids, sorrel leaf beetles, and gray bud weevils. In damaged plants, they eat generative organs, germinating and ripening seeds, berries (strawberries) and young shoots (lettuce, potatoes).
Of the enemy predators of this species, more than 30 species of invertebrates (spiders, ground beetles) and vertebrates (viviparous lizard, birds from the families of falcons, pheasants, plovers, owls, larks, ravens, thrushes, warblers, wagtails, shrikes, starlings, buntings, weavers) have been noted , finches, and among mammals - the European hedgehog).
Flattened dullweed - Amara spreta Dej. European part of Russia, Siberia; in Ukraine mainly in the Forest-Steppe. Europe, Western and Eastern Mediterranean, Northern China. Pantophagus. Beetles sometimes eat the pulp of russula and other edible mushrooms, germinating seeds of mustard, hornbeam and some wild herbs (sedge, etc.).
Dark-whiskered dimwhisker - Amara famelica Zimm. European part of Russia, Siberia; in Ukraine most often in Polesie and Forest-steppe. Europe. Pantophagus. Beetles sometimes damage ears of wheat and some wild cereals.
Forest dimweed - Amara communis Panz. European part of Russia, Siberia, Central Asia; everywhere in Ukraine, but sporadically in the Steppe. Europe, Western and Eastern Mediterranean. Pantophagus. Beetles sometimes eat germinating seeds of wheat, flax, the pulp of russula and other edible mushrooms.
Tusklyak convex - Amara convexior Steph. European part of Russia, Ukraine (in forests from Transcarpathia to the Dnieper and in the mountainous Crimea). Europe, Western and Eastern Mediterranean. Pantophagus. Beetles sometimes eat germinating seeds of hornbeam and maple.
Floodplain dimweed - Amara municipalis Dej. European part of Russia, Siberia; everywhere in Ukraine. Europe. Pantophagus. Sporadically damages the generative organs of grain (wheat, rye) and industrial (mint) crops; Feeding on 7 species of wild herbs (cereals, Lamiaceae, Compositae) was noted.
Dull narrow - Amara bifrons Gill. European part of Russia, Siberia, Central Asia; everywhere in Ukraine. Europe, Western and Eastern Mediterranean. Harmfulness was noted in the Forest-Steppe and the subzone of the northern steppes.
Damages grains (wheat, rye, corn), industrial crops (mustard, thyme), garden crops (onions, sorrel), medicinal crops (yarrow, plantain, St. John's wort, chamomile), and carrion in gardens; Feeding on more than 20 species of wild herbs was observed (cereals, buckwheat, goosefoot, cruciferous, euphorbia, madder, asteraceae).
Description. The beetle is 5.5-7.5 mm, narrow, reddish-brown, the upper part of the abdomen has a metallic sheen. The antennae are uniformly red, the forehead near the eyes has two bristle-bearing pores. The greatest width of the pronotum is at its base, which is equal to the width of the base of the elytra. The posterior corners of the pronotum are blunted, the main pits, and often most of the base, are deeply punctured. The elytral groove is distinct. Legs are uniformly brown.
The larva is up to 8 mm long, the head is brownish, the tergites of the thorax and abdomen are grayish-yellow. The first antennal segment is more than twice as long as it is wide; the parietal suture is practically absent. Epipleura with 5 setae, cerci three times longer than the ninth abdominal segment.
Lifestyle. The nature of its distribution among biotopes and daily activity is similar to that of the seed grass. Under arable land conditions, this species has two mutually overlapping generations. One of them overwinters beetles, the emergence of which from their wintering places in the steppe zone begins when the average daily air temperature is above 10° (end of April). Overwintered females, emerging from pupae in the fall, lay eggs from the beginning of June (Forest-steppe) or from the beginning of May (Steppe). The development of larvae lasts until the end of summer, interrupted by diapause. In another generation, larvae overwinter and complete their development in late spring. The emergence of beetles from pupae is observed from early June to early July (Forest-steppe) and from early April to late May (Steppe). The development of gonads is delayed by summer diapause; females with eggs are found in September - October.
Panthophagous beetles and larvae. In addition to the above plants, their food includes more than 10 species of invertebrate animals (oligochaete worms, soil-dwelling larvae of Coleoptera and Diptera). In damaged plants, they eat mainly the seedlings, less often the flowers and ripening seeds.
Of the enemy predators of this species, about 10 species of animals have been recorded (tarantulas, ground beetles, sparrows, badgers).
Thick-headed dimwit - Amara ingenua Duft. European part of Russia, Siberia, Central Asia; everywhere in Ukraine. Europe, Western and Eastern Mediterranean. Pantophagus. Sporadically damages germinating seeds of cereals (wheat, corn), industrial (kenaf, hemp), garden crops (carrots, lettuce), the pulp of strawberries, in orchards - carrion and the generative organs of some wild cereals.
Dull red - Amara fulfa Deg. European part of Russia, Siberia; everywhere in Ukraine. Europe, Eastern Mediterranean. Pantophagus. Beetles sometimes damage germinating seeds of cereals (wheat, barley, corn), industrial (lei, mustard) and garden (onions, lettuce) crops, young shoots of potatoes, maple seedlings and generative organs of wild grasses (cereals, sedges, etc.).
Tar-brown dull - Amara consularis Duft. European part of Russia, Siberia to the Yenisei, Central Asia; everywhere in Ukraine. Europe. Panthophagus beetles sometimes damage germinating seeds of grain (wheat, rye, barley, corn), industrial (beets, mustard), forage (sorghum, clover) crops, maple, hornbeam, strawberries, and carrion in gardens.
Bitter limp - Amara apricaria Payk. European part of Russia, Siberia, Central Asia; everywhere in Ukraine. Maliciousness was observed mainly in the Steppe. Europe, Western and Eastern Mediterranean, Central Asia.
Damages grains (wheat, rye, corn, barley, oats, millet, buckwheat), legumes (peas, beans), industrial crops (beets, sunflowers, peanuts, mustard, flax, hemp, thyme), garden crops (onions, carrots, sorrel) , medicinal (jaundice, St. John's wort, sage), fodder (vetch, clover) crops, strawberries, maple, ash, carrion in gardens; feeding on 10 species of wild herbs (cereals, goosefoot, asteraceae) was observed.
Description. The beetle is 6-8.5 mm, elongated, the upper abdomen is pitch-brown, often with a slight bronze sheen, the lower abdomen and legs are rusty-red. The pronotum is roughly but not densely punctate at the base, its lateral margins in front of the posterior corners with a distinct notch.
Larva up to 11 mm. The head is strongly transverse, the second segment of the antennae has one seta. Clypeus with six small closely spaced denticles. The occipital groove and epicranial suture are absent. The longitudinal ocellar groove contains one long and two short thin bristles. Abdominal tergites are light yellow and bear only two pairs of large setae along the posterior margin. Sternite of the ninth abdominal segment with one pair of setae in the middle.
Lifestyle. The distribution pattern among biotopes is similar to the seed grass, but in the Steppe it is more often found in open watershed areas, especially on arable lands.
Beetles and larvae overwinter. In Steni, beetles emerge from their wintering grounds at an average daily air temperature of 3-5° and lead an active lifestyle from early March to mid-October. In the Forest-Steppe they are found from late March to early October. Hatching of beetles from pupae formed from overwintered larvae occurs from mid-June to the end of July.
Panthophagous beetles and larvae. In addition to the above-mentioned plants, more than 20 species of invertebrate animals were noted in their food, including such pests as sand and corn sluggers, Colorado potato beetles, beet and gray bud weevils. In plants, germinating seeds, flowering parts, ripening grains, and less often (in strawberries) the pulp of the fruit are damaged.
Among the enemies-predators of this species, 12 species of invertebrates (centipedes, spiders, ground beetles) and 11 species of vertebrates (viviparous lizard, birds from the families of plovers, owls, sivoraxidae, ravens, starlings, weaverbirds) were noted.
Flat-headed lump - Amara crenata Dej. In Russia, the middle zone and the south of the European part, the Caucasus; in Ukraine mainly in the Steppe and Crimea. Central Europe, Western and partially Eastern (Balkans) Mediterranean. Pantophagus. Beetles sometimes eat germinating seeds and generative organs of grain (wheat, millet, barley) and medicinal (St. John's wort) crops, as well as some wild herbs (cereals, Asteraceae).
Notched-breasted Tusk - Amara aulica Panz. European part of Russia. Everywhere in Ukraine, Western Siberia, Central Asia. Europe, introduced to North America. Pantophagus. Sporadically damages germinating seeds, less often flowers of grain (wheat, corn, rice), leguminous (peas), industrial (cotton) and fodder (clover, alfalfa) crops, seedlings of maple, hornbeam and some types of wild grasses (Asteraceae).
Humpbacked Tusk - Amara convexiuscula March. European part of Russia, Siberia to Transbaikalia; everywhere in Ukraine, except for the mountainous regions of the Carpathians and Crimea. Europe, Western and partly Eastern Mediterranean. Pantophagus. It is noted as a pest of grain (wheat, rye, rice), industrial (beets, mustard, fennel), medicinal (plantain, steelgrass) and fodder (clover) crops, germinating hornbeam seeds and flowers of 7 species of wild herbs (cereals, goosefoot).
Small ground beetle - Zabrus tenebrioides Goeze. The middle and southern strips of the European part of Russia, the south of Western Siberia, Central Asia; everywhere in Ukraine, but more often in the Steppe. Central Europe, Western and Eastern Mediterranean. The area within Ukraine is divided into three zones: of increased harm - Odessa, Nikolaev, Kherson and the plain part of the Crimean region; unstable harm - the central and southern regions of the Kirovograd, Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye regions, as well as the Chernivtsi and Transcarpathian regions; minor harm - forest-steppe zone to the southern border of Polesie.
Damages grains (wheat, rye, corn, millet, oats, rice, sorghum, buckwheat), industrial (sunflower, fennel), garden (salag), fodder (sudanese, timothy, ryegrass, fescue, cocksfoot, wheatgrass) crops and about 10 types of wild cereals. It causes the greatest damage to winter wheat.
Description. The beetle is 12-16 mm, pitch-black, hairless on top. The antennae, palps, paws, and in young beetles the abdomen are reddish to tar-brown in color. The head is large, the forehead is at the inner edge, the eyes have one bristle-bearing pore. The antennae are short, pubescent from the fourth segment.
Larva up to 28 mm. The body is elongated, slender. The head and first segment of the chest are dark brown or pitch-brown, the rest of the body is grayish-green to cream or white. The head is transverse, in its lower part on each side there is a longitudinal row of setae (4-5). The mandibles are massive, twice as long as wide at the base, their inner edge has a large tooth, and the outer edge has two setae.
The pupa is white, with well-defined legs, mouthparts and wings. She lies in the cradle in an inclined position, head up. Before the beetle emerges, the mouth parts and limbs of the pupa darken.
The eggs are milky white, oval, 2-2.5 mm in size.
Lifestyle. In the distribution of natural and cultivated biotopes, this species clearly shows a zonal change of stations in the longitudinal (from west to east) and latitudinal (from north to south) directions. In Transcarpathia and the western Forest-Steppe, beetles are found mainly in areas of meadow steppes with sparse grass, and in arable land conditions - on crops with wide row spacing (corn, sunflower). In the left-bank Forest-Steppe and adjacent areas of the eastern Steppe, they predominate in areas with moderate grass growth and in grain crops on the southern gentle slopes of hills and ravines. To the south of the Forest-Steppe, in the subzone of fescue-feather grass steppes, beetles are confined to areas with dense grass cover and crops with narrow row spacing on the plain. Even further south, in the wormwood-grass steppes, beetles are usually found at the bottom of gullies and hearths, in floodplain meadows and irrigated lands.
In cultivated biotopes it is found in much greater quantities (mainly on grain crops) than in natural ones.
The pattern of daily activity is in general similar to the behavior of the seedling.
Mostly larvae overwinter, less often beetles. In spring, feeding of the larvae begins at an average daily air temperature of 7-8° and lasts on average 5-7 weeks, after which pupation occurs. In the Donetsk region, pupae are found in the II-III decades of May, in the Odessa, Kherson and Nikolaev regions - in the I-II decades of May, in the Kirovograd and Vinnytsia regions - from the II decade of June to the first ten days of July. The development of pupae lasts from 12 to 25 days.

(Harpalus affinis)

Granivorous ground beetles, or runners(lat. Harpalus listen)) is a genus of ground beetles from the subfamily Harpalina.

Description

The forelegs of males are expanded. The pronotum is rarely median; its base is slightly narrower than the base of the elytra.

Biology

Ground beetles. Everywhere, except the tundra and deserts.

Classification

About 400 species (10 subgenera): more than 280 species in the Palearctic, 73 in the Nearctic, 50 in the Afrotropics and Madagascar, 11 species in the Indo-Malayan region. For the former USSR, 166 species are indicated. Belongs to the subfamily Harpalinae .

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Notes

Literature

• Kryzhanovsky O. L. 1983: Genus Harpalus.// Fauna of the USSR, Coleoptera (Volume I, issue 2). - Leningrad, “Science”, p.268-269.
• Kryzhanovskij O. L. et al. 1995: A Checklist of the ground-beetles of Russia and Adjacent Lands (Coleoptera, Carabidae).- Sofia: Pensoft Series Faunist. 3, 271 pp.
• Lindroth, C. H. 1961-1969. The ground beetles (Carabidae excl. Cicindelinae) of Canada and Alaska. Parts 1-6. Opuscula Entomologica xlviii + 1192 pp

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An excerpt characterizing granivorous ground beetles

Mostly Princess Marya did not understand the full significance of this war because the old prince never talked about it, did not acknowledge it and laughed at Desalles at dinner when he talked about this war. The prince's tone was so calm and confident that Princess Marya, without reasoning, believed him.
Throughout the month of July, the old prince was extremely active and even animated. He also laid out a new garden and a new building, a building for the courtyard workers. One thing that bothered Princess Marya was that he slept little and, having changed his habit of sleeping in the study, changed the place of his overnight stays every day. Either he ordered his camp bed to be set up in the gallery, then he remained on the sofa or in the Voltaire chair in the living room and dozed without undressing, while not m lle Bourienne, but the boy Petrusha read to him; then he spent the night in the dining room.
On August 1, a second letter was received from Prince Andrei. In the first letter, received shortly after his departure, Prince Andrei humbly asked his father for forgiveness for what he had allowed himself to say to him, and asked him to return his favor to him. The old prince responded to this letter with an affectionate letter and after this letter he alienated the Frenchwoman from himself. Prince Andrei's second letter, written from near Vitebsk, after the French occupied it, consisted of a brief description of the entire campaign with a plan outlined in the letter, and considerations for the further course of the campaign. In this letter, Prince Andrei presented his father with the inconvenience of his position close to the theater of war, on the very line of troop movement, and advised him to go to Moscow.
At dinner that day, in response to the words of Desalles, who said that, as heard, the French had already entered Vitebsk, the old prince remembered the letter from Prince Andrei.
“I received it from Prince Andrei today,” he said to Princess Marya, “didn’t you read it?”
“No, mon pere, [father],” the princess answered fearfully. She could not read a letter that she had never even heard of.
“He writes about this war,” said the prince with that familiar, contemptuous smile with which he always spoke about the real war.
“It must be very interesting,” said Desalles. - The prince is able to know...
- Oh, very interesting! - said Mlle Bourienne.
“Go and bring it to me,” the old prince turned to Mlle Bourienne. – You know, on a small table under a paperweight.
M lle Bourienne jumped up joyfully.
“Oh no,” he shouted, frowning. - Come on, Mikhail Ivanovich.
Mikhail Ivanovich got up and went into the office. But as soon as he left, the old prince, looking around uneasily, threw down his napkin and went off on his own.
“They don’t know how to do anything, they’ll confuse everything.”
While he walked, Princess Marya, Desalles, m lle Bourienne and even Nikolushka silently looked at each other. The old prince returned with a hasty step, accompanied by Mikhail Ivanovich, with a letter and a plan, which he, not allowing anyone to read during dinner, placed next to him.

Ground beetles come in a variety of varieties. For example, Carabus species of the Cechenus group have a broad, powerful head; the head is wide because powerful muscles that compress the jaws are attached to it. This beetle preys on gastropods hiding in an armored shell. The beetle chews the shells with its jaws - like shelling huge seeds, with a crash. And small ground beetles of the genus Dromius live on trees, under the bark.


There are also many herbivorous forms among ground beetles; not all of them are predatory - for example, there are many plant-eating species in the genus Amara.
There are granivorous ground beetles, and even agricultural pests (grain ground beetle Zabrus tenebrioides). These beetles build burrows where they store grain. Some ground beetles carry grain in a very funny way: they clamp the grain in their jaws, and on top of the head there is a small curved outgrowth that “grabs” the grain so that it does not slip out. The granivore Ophonus feeds on the grains of umbelliferous grasses. The female digs a hole for each individual egg, where she carries seeds to provide food for the future larva. It is important to note here the delayed eating of food: between the acquisition of prey and its use there is a stage of transport of food. It is believed that this is one of the steps towards coloniality.

Prey transportation is not limited to herbivorous forms. The larva of Carabus gigas hunts at night. She runs in the darkness along the surface of the forest floor until she discovers a prey - a snail. The larva attacks her and kills her. Then she digs a hole and drags the dead snail into it. Sitting in a hole, it feeds calmly. At the same time, she places the snail in the hole so that the mouth of the shell closes the entrance to the hole, and the shell itself serves as a kind of lid under which the larva hides in the hole. While eating, the larva does housekeeping - it expands the burrow and compacts its walls with lateral movements of the body. She eats the snail in one and a half to three days, after which she is ready to go on a new hunt.

Ground beetles of the genus Nebria (for example, the coastal ground beetle N. brevicollis), distinguished by a heart-shaped pronotum, live along the banks of rivers and streams and hunt there for springtails - those same hidden-jawed small creatures that we talked about as possible ancestors of the entire class of insects. However, these ground beetles also eat insects, just like the ground beetles of the genus Bembidion, which are also found near water. The shiny Nebria nitida hides from its enemies by diving into the water and hiding under the lower, underwater part of the stones.


Many genera of ground beetles have special adaptations specifically for catching springtails. The ground beetle Loricera pilicornis has sticky areas on its mouthparts to which its small prey sticks. Notiophilus is very keen and is able to spot even small springtails from a fair distance. Loricera has long hairs at the base of its antennae - a special “brush”, a catching apparatus, with which they catch springtails. In Leistus, a similar catching apparatus is located on the lower surface of the head.

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10.03.2017

There are mixed opinions on this matter. One part of people considers ground beetles to be harmful and destructive insects for many cultivated plants, and advocates their complete and ruthless destruction, the second part is trying to prove that the beetle actually brings invaluable benefits to agriculture and advocates for increasing their numbers.

Let's try to figure out who is right and is the ground beetle really useful?

Ground beetles ( lat. Carabidae ) are representatives of the most numerous family of beetles, which number tens of thousands of species in the world (according to some sources, their number reaches fifty thousand species), and every year entomologists discover more and more new varieties of beetles.

The ground beetle is a fairly large (from fifteen millimeters in length) insect, and the size of individual individuals can reach five centimeters in length, and even more than that.

The body of the ground beetle is elongated, strong, the color is dark black, brown, often with a metallic tint. The wings often have grooves and are covered with small bright dots. Sometimes there are beetles with a rainbow (pearl) tint.

This type of beetle, unlike many of its fellows, flies poorly, and uses this method of movement primarily for settlement. Some ground beetles cannot fly at all.

Let's start getting acquainted with ground beetles with pests. Alas, not all ground beetles are useful.

Phytophagous

There is a small part of beetles that destroy cultivated plants and thus cause significant damage to agricultural farms and garden plots. The most prominent representative of this group of pests is the ground beetle or humpbacked peon.

The bread ground beetle is a beetle about one and a half centimeters long, black, resinous in color.

The female beetle lays up to two hundred and fifty eggs in a clutch. They are smooth, white, oval in shape and about two millimeters in diameter. The duration of egg development ranges from ten to twenty-five days. Ground beetle larvae are light-colored with a brownish head. They live in the top layer of soil and feed on the leaves of wheat and other cereals. The larvae overwinter underground, usually on winter crops.

At the end of April, at a depth of about twenty centimeters, the larva pupates (this phase lasts about three weeks), and then turns into an adult insect. An adult bread ground beetle devours young ovaries and grain. The beetle causes the greatest damage to winter wheat, but also damages barley, oats and even corn.

The best means of protection against ground beetles is a short and early harvest time. Subsequent careful removal of straw from the fields, as well as timely peeling of the stubble, will also not be superfluous. In autumn the land needs to be plowed.

The fight against ground beetle larvae can also be carried out by treating the seeds with pesticides, and during the period of grain formation, treat the crop with insecticides.

Entomophages

A beneficial beetle, which is a formidable predator, and brings invaluable benefits because it eats a huge number of harmful insects: beetles, larvae, pupae, caterpillars, as well as slugs, snails and other pests.

The most common type of ground beetles

Predatory ground beetles have powerful sickle-shaped jaws extended forward and strong, long, well-developed legs, which are specially adapted for rapid movement along the surface of the earth. This is exactly the case when they say that “the wolf is fed by the legs,” because the beetle looks strong, lean, powerful, since it must outpace its prey, which lives mainly in the upper layers of the soil. Some species of ground beetles are even capable of climbing trees in search of food.

The jaws of these beetles are as strong and powerful as their legs. The jaw apparatus of the predatory ground beetle is able to tear the chitinous cover of most insects, and slugs and snails are a special delicacy for them, since there is no need to chase them.

In one night, in search of food, a beetle can cover a distance of several kilometers (!)

During the day, ground beetles, as a rule, take refuge under pebbles, earthen breasts, hide in rotten grass, fallen leaves and even under the bark of trees, and at night, when it gets dark, they come out to hunt in search of food.

Having overtaken the prey, the beetle grabs it with its jaws, the shape of which allows it to hold the victim well, and secretes a caustic, poisonous liquid inside, which gradually dissolves the tissues of the poor insect.

In one season (spring - summer - autumn), one family (female and male ground beetles) can destroy up to several thousand different crawling and running pests.

The fertility of females in predatory ground beetles is about 150 eggs. The larvae develop for about three weeks, and the pupa on average for two weeks. Predatory beetles overwinter in the soil. Ground beetles belong to the category of long-lived beetles and, unlike other species of their fellows, can live for ten years without problems.

Unfortunately, the number of beneficial ground beetles is declining from year to year. Firstly, they are extremely sensitive to the effects of pesticides, and secondly, they are destroyed in large numbers by children, collectors, and tourists, because the beetle itself is very beautiful and often suffers from this.

How to distinguish a beneficial insect from a pest?

Legs and jaws are what you need to pay attention to in order to determine where the ground beetle is beneficial and where it is harmful.

The bread ground beetle or humpbacked peon has a stocky body, short legs and, in comparison with the powerful legs of the predator, look underdeveloped. The head has a slightly rounded shape, the jaws do not protrude and are adapted only to grinding plant matter, and the beetle itself does not lead a very active lifestyle.

The predatory ground beetle looks larger, leaner (like an ant), has long legs and a well-developed jaw, the task of which is to grab prey and not let it go.

There is also a mixed type of ground beetles (mixophages)

This group is also numerous. The beetles included in this group feed on plant foods, but sometimes they are not averse to eating food of animal origin. For example, millet ground beetle. At the beginning of the season, it behaves like a predator, but as the crops mature, it completely changes its feeding pattern and becomes a serious pest of cereals.