Ground Beetles of Ireland
Carabus granulatus
| Click on the image to enlarge it in a new window | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 © Roy Anderson |
 Click on map to enlarge it in a new window (Maps updated 30th November 2009) |
||
Carabus granulatus Linnaeus, 1758
Description: Large (16-23mm) granulate bronze, green or black predatory beetle. Easily the commonest Carabus in Ireland. Ubiquitous in wet fields, river margins, fens, lakeshores, and upland peat. Occasional in gardens.
World Distribution: A Eurasian Wide-temperate species (65), widespread through Europe and Siberia to the Pacific coast. Introduced in N. America.
Irish Status: The commonest Irish Carabus and present at all altitudes and in most kinds of wetland habitat.
Ecology: Hygrophilous, but because of the wetness and moisture retentive character of many Irish soils, recorded from a wide variety of habitats including suburban gardens and coastal land reclamation sites. It also occurs widely on peat, including lowland bogs, montane blanket peat and the summits of mountains. Not generally recorded from woodlands although it may be common on the roughly analogous Calluna heath. In central Europe it is described as silvicolous (Koch, 1992; Marggi, 1992).