Family: Carabidae, Ground Beetles view all from this family

Description 5/8-7/8" (17-22 mm). Black with violet or coppery highlights. Head and prothorax narrow. Underlip deeply notched. Antennae long, slender, segment 5 and beyond with short hair. Pronotum has ridge on both sides.

Food Slugs and snails.

Life Cycle Eggs are laid under debris in May or June. Larvae overwinter and pupate when soil warms slightly in spring. Adults are active at night May-November in the South and June-September in the North.

Habitat Moist woods.

Range Massachusetts and New York to Florida, west to Texas.

Discussion This beetle's narrow head and prothorax allow it to reach inside a snail's curving shell using its long narrow mandibles to seize the animal inside.