Carabus intricatus

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Coleopterida
Ordo: Coleoptera
Subordo: Adephaga

Familia: Carabidae
Subfamilia: Carabinae
Tribus: Carabini
Genus: Carabus
Division: Carabus div. Multistriati
Subdivision: Carabus subdiv. Arciferi
Subgenus: Carabus (Chaetocarabus)
Species: Carabus intricatus
Name

Carabus intricatus Linnaeus, 1761
References

IUCN: Carabus intricatus (Near Threatened)

Vernacular names
English: Blue Ground Beetle

Carabus intricatus, the blue ground beetle, is a species of ground beetle found in Europe.[1][2]

It is a large beetle (24–35 millimetres or 0.9–1.4 inches in length), with a metallic purple or blue and roughly surfaced elytra; the second pair of wings (which are used by beetles for flying) under the elytra are reduced. In Britain it was only recorded three times in the twenty years up to 1993 and was considered extinct there. But in 1994 it was found in a couple of places near Dartmoor.[3]

Carabus intricatus are nocturnal carnivores that are mainly active in the spring and early summer. Tests have shown they prefer slugs from the genus Limax, especially Limax marginatus. They were also found to have a taste for liver, dog food, and crabsticks.[3] In the wild, the adults are found under bark on dead wood, and under rocks. It does not require ground vegetation, and likes damp, rotten, moss-covered wood.[3]

The beetles seem to be active throughout the year and a fully-grown larva has been found in summer. This specimen also ate slugs prior to pupating, and emerged as an adult some three weeks later. It is thought that it may take two years to complete its life cycle. The adults are very long-lived.[3]
References

World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Carabus intricatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T3845A10120005. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T3845A10120005.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
"Carabidae of the World"
"Carabus intricatus". ARKive. Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved June 28, 2010.