Carabus hortensis
Bonanza ground beetles ( Carabus hortensis )
The Bonanza beetles or garden beetle ( Carabus hortensis ) is a beetle of the family of ground beetles ( Carabidae ).
Features
This about medium-sized member of the genus Carabus reaches a body length of 22 to 30 mm. The oval to long- oval, strongly curved wing covers are copper-or bronze brown striped to black and fine. Between two primary strips each 7 finer strips are formed, so it is also Quarternärintervalle available. Remarkable are the ever elytra three rows red-gold or green pits, which interrupt the primary intervals. The elytra margins are bent and wide green or coppery golden, blue or purple shiny.
Distribution and habitat
The distribution area of Bonanza ground beetle includes North, Central and Eastern Europe, it is absent in the UK and the Netherlands as well as in south-western Europe and the Mediterranean islands. In north-south direction the spread of Norway extends to northern Italy and southern Greece. Contrary to the epithet hortensis and the derived German name " garden beetle " is the gold mine beetles a typical forest inhabitants and inhabited primarily light deciduous and mixed forests and parks and hedgerows. He prefers this stony or gravelly soils. The species occurs from the lowlands prior to the high mountains.
Way of life
The beetles are found from April to October. They are nocturnal and eat insects, snails, and fresh carrion. Hibernation takes place as a larva.
System
The species was first described by Carl von Linné 1758 under the still valid scientific name. The genus Carabus is divided into several subgenera. Carabus hortensis is placed in the subgenus Oreocarabus.
German -language designation
Alfred Brehm states in his popular science animal life falsely stated that he was " on fields as in gardens more often " is to find and therefore held the German name " garden beetle " is inappropriate. Linnaeus's pupil Johann Christian Fabricius gave it the scientific name Carabus gemmatus, which is not recognized due to the priority rule today. Brehm translated this name with " jewel - beetles " and was referring to the drawing of the elytra, " like jewels stand out by their chalcocite from the matt black subsoil vortheilhaft " their pointed pits. This shiny metallic point pits the top wing led to the designation Bonanza beetles today in the German literature the most widely used.