Calosoma calidum (Fabricius,1775)[]
Arthropods (Arthropoda)---Insects (Insecta)---Beetles (Coleoptera)---Adephaga----Ground beetles (Carabidae)---Carabinae---Carabini---Calosoma----Calosoma calidum
8th June, 2008. Near Elk Island NP.
The Fiery hunter is a large-sized ground beetle found in aspen groves and woodland sprinting across the gravel paths and grass around early June to early July. The studs on the Fiery hunter's wing cases can come in a variety of colours, the most common being red, and also green and yellow. A very similar species, C. frigidum has very faint studs, with even fainter colour inside them. Beetles in the genus Calosoma are known as "Caterpillar hunters" and, as their name suggests, spend most of their time hunting down caterpillars of the Aspen woodland. As with most carabid beetles they are rarely seen on cloudy days, find a hot, sunny area of an aspen forest and try searching there, their size makes them noticeable from a large distance away. They give a nasty bite when handled (presumably) which is more nasty than the more typical and common Ground beetles.
Size[]
Adults can be anywhere from about 23-30mm.
Habitat[]
True Aspen woodland with barely any other trees, sandy ground, one such area can be found near Elk Island NP.