Calosoma
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| Calosoma | ||||||||||||||||
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 Calosoma sycophanta
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Calosoma is a genus of large ground beetles that occur primarily throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and are referred to as Caterpillar hunters or Searchers. Many of the ~50 species are largely or entirely black, but some have bright metallic coloration. They produce a foul-smelling spray from glands near the tip of the abdomen.
In 1905, Calosoma sycophanta was imported to New England for control of the Gypsy Moth. The species is a voracious consumer of caterpillars during both its larval stage and as an adult, as are other species in the genus. For this reason, they are generally considered beneficial insects.
[edit] External links
- Ground Beetles, Susan Mahr,University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- Forest Caterpillar Hunter, BioLib.cz.
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