One of the most beautiful and large predatory beetles is the Crimean ground beetle. This is a separate species of the Carabidae family, which was described back in the 19th century by the famous entomologist Bonelli.
Appearance
The graceful ground beetle has a body on which the head, chest and abdomen are clearly oval in shape. The length of the beetle sometimes reaches 52 mm. This insect cannot fly - its wings are undeveloped, but long legs allow it to run fast enough. The front paws are adapted for cleaning the antennae due to the presence of a tenderloin with thick hairs.
The Crimean ground beetle (a photo of its representatives can be seen in the article) has several forms that differ in color, which can be blue, purple, green or black. Light is refracted on the surface of coarse-grained, wrinkled coatings, resulting in the illusion of a color change in the insect. Experts call this feature optical coloring. The lower body of the ground beetle is black, with a shiny metallic sheen.
Sexual demorphism is weakly expressed. Females are slightly larger, while males can be distinguished by longer antennae and extended front legs. The life span of these insects is 10-11years.
Habitats
Crimean ground beetle is found mainly in the south-west of the Crimean peninsula, inhabits the entire mountain zone. It lives in gardens, deciduous and mixed forests, squares and parks. You can often find it on forest paths, in fallen leaves, right on the soil surface. Interestingly, it is no longer found anywhere except in the Crimea.
Features of behavior
The Crimean ground beetle is a predator that most often leads a nocturnal lifestyle. Occasionally, in search of food, it can appear during the day. Muscular long legs help to hunt for prey. With their help, the beetle is saved from enemies. In one night, the insect is able to cover a distance of up to 2 km. At the same time, he has to maneuver in order to get to the most vulnerable spot of the victim. It is very difficult to catch a ground beetle - it is so evasive and fast.
When it is not possible to escape from the enemy with the help of its legs, it releases from the abdomen a stream of caustic brown liquid with an unpleasant pungent odor. Formic acid, which is in its composition, causes severe pain and tearing when it gets into the eyes.
Food
Like most representatives of this family, the Crimean ground beetle has extraintestinal digestion. Holding the prey with the help of powerful jaws, the beetle practically sucks it up. The secret of the midgut, poured onto the victim, helps to soften even the toughest tissues. Strong jaws easily destroy any chitinous cover.
The basis of the diet of ground beetlescaterpillars, slugs, grape snails, other beetles, as well as insect eggs. A predator can lie in wait for its prey in an ambush or catch up with the help of long muscular legs. Eating a snail, the beetle leaves its house intact, gnawing only the mollusk itself. Having sated, the Crimean ground beetle burrows into the soil for several days.
Reproduction
Usually mating takes place in April. After that, the female lays her eggs directly into the ground. The depth of their occurrence is approximately 30 mm. There they stay from 13 to 14 days, after which larvae up to 19 mm in length and weighing about 160 mg are born. On the body they have 6 claw-shaped short legs. At first, the larvae are white in color, but after 10 hours after hatching, they turn purple-black.
From birth, they already have the powerful jaws of a predator. They feed on terrestrial molluscs, clinging tightly to them. The victim, resisting, covers the larva with mucus and foam, but it stubbornly fights off with its legs, burrowing into the soil and turning the shell towards itself. Then it gradually penetrates into it and eats the mollusk. By the end of summer, the development of the larva is completed, it pupates and hibernates as adults. This stage lasts 2 to 3 years.
Home maintenance
The insectarium must be decorated in such a way that it completely resembles a forest clearing. Soddy land is laid at its bottom along with grass, fallen leaves, moss and sand. Various stones and shards are immediately placed, which will serve as a shelter for the insect. As feedearthworms, slugs, cockroaches are suitable - this is what the Crimean ground beetle eats in natural conditions.
The maintenance of larvae is not much different from the conditions for adult beetles. The main thing is that they are separate from them. Twice a day (morning and evening), the grass should be lightly sprayed with water to maintain the required moisture.
Security measures
The number of this amazing insect is affected by the amount of precipitation, which is directly related to the food supply in the form of terrestrial mollusks. Cutting down vineyards leads to the disappearance of the grape snail, which is the main food of the ground beetle. The decrease in numbers is also affected by the cultivation of forest glades, the high sensitivity of this insect to pesticides, as well as uncontrolled catching by collectors.
Today the Crimean ground beetle is protected by law. In the Red Book, it is marked as a rare, endangered species. In the habitats of beetles, there is a ban on the use of pesticides and on the capture of insects.
