Fun Ground Beetle Facts For Kids

Ground Beetles belong to the Carabidae family of beetles and the order Coleoptera. The ground beetle's scientific name is Carabidae. Some of the vital ground beetle species include murky ground beetle, Darkling ground beetle, Pedunculate ground beetle, Woodland ground beetle, Predaceous ground beetle, European ground beetle, and more.

Ground beetles have four different stages in the life cycle: egg, ground beetle larva, pupa, and adult, and these stages are spent primarily in their habitat, while the adult stage is spent above the ground. The ground beetle diet consists of pests hence they play a significant role in reducing pests and weeds in agricultural fields. They are highly active at night when it is dark. This species protects itself from predators by releasing toxic chemicals from the abdomen. The Scarites subterraneus is a big-headed ground beetle. Read on to learn about this Scarites ground beetle, the common black ground beetle, and much more.

If you find our research on ground beetles fascinating, we are sure you would love our content on atlas beetle and click beetle facts too.
 

What type of animal is a ground beetle?

Ground beetles are one of the largest insect families, with approximately 40,000 species worldwide.

What class of animal does a ground beetle belong to?

Ground beetles are arthropods, which means they have an exoskeleton.

How many ground beetles are there in the world?

The exact number of ground beetles is not known. The Carabidae have more than 40,000 species globally, with around 2,000 in North America and 2,700 in Europe.

Where does a ground beetle live?

Ground beetles are found in tropical and terrestrial environments, including forests, fields, shorelines, and agriculture.

What is a ground beetle's habitat?

The ground beetle habitat is on the ground and under the logs, soil, rocks, wood, leaves, boards, and other debris.

Who do ground beetles live with?

The ground beetles move with their groups.

How long does a ground beetle live?

The ground beetle's lifespan is for two to three years.

How do they reproduce?

In the ground beetle life cycle after mating, the females lay around 30-600 eggs that hatch as ground beetles larvae and complete three larval stages before becoming a pupil. Ground beetle larvae transform into adults after completing the pupal stage of the life cycle. Complete development from egg to adulthood can take place within a single season.

What is their conservation status?

The common ground beetle (scientific name Carabidae) exists in 40,000 species around different parts of the world, and are classified as Not Extinct.

What do ground beetles look like?

The common ground beetle's head is narrower than the neck and their body has large pincer-like mandibles to eat soil-habitat organisms quickly. They have long legs and powerful mandibles, and this species' body is flattened. It is common for adult Carabid beetles to have wings with wing covers called elytra, but they rarely fly.

How cute are they?

They are ugly and sometimes smell awful.

How do they communicate?

The ground beetles communicate through smell and taste. Though they have large eyes, they sense any food through touch. Beetles always communicate with fellow beetles by emitting chemicals. Male beetle finds female beetle through the smell of scent. They also communicate through drone-like sounds, which they make by rubbing two parts of the body against each other to warn of danger.

How big is a ground beetle?

The blue ground beetle is the largest and rarest ground beetle. A typical insect is 0.1-1 in long, whereas this blue beetle is 1.4 in long.

How much can a ground beetle lift?

The ground beetles can lift up to 40 times their own weight. They walk slowly to carry these particles.

How much does a ground beetle weigh?

The exact weight is not available, but it won't be more than few grams as they are tiny in size.

What are their male and female names of the species?

The ground beetles are known as male ground beetle and female ground beetle, respectively.

What would you call a baby ground beetle?

The baby beetle is called ground beetle larvae.

What do they eat?

These groups of insects are night predators of a wide range of pests that includes aphids, moth larvae, beetle larvae, mites, seeds, and weeds. They are called generalist predators as they feed on a wide range of pests. They are often used in agricultural lands for pest control.

Are they dangerous?

The ground beetles are not considered to be dangerous to human beings. As an act of defense, the ground beetle bites, but the ground beetle bite does not harm humans.

Would they make a good pet?

They do make good pets and are used for pest control in agricultural fields, as they prey on pests and weeds that damage the field.

Did you know...

Here are few Ground Beetle facts for kids. The Carabidae from the Coleoptera genus are nocturnal insects as they are active at night and come out for prey during the dark, they are found in tropical terrestrial forests and mountains. They are found during summer and spring, and when exposed to sunlight, they can move very fast. Black, green, brown, and gold are common colors of these Coleoptera insects.

A few popular Coleoptera groups of insects are Delta Green ground beetle, Violet ground beetle, Blue Margined ground beetle, golden ground beetle and more.

Despite having wing covers or elytra, these insects can't fly or jump like click beetle, but they scurry and escape very fast.

How to care for a ground beetle?

Many adults are preserved in beetle banks for farming and agriculture purposes. Tall grass areas are constructed in fields with an ideal atmosphere to attract a large number of these insects, this process is called ground beetle infestation.

How to get rid of ground beetle in house?

They enter the house from the gaps of walls and doors at ground level. The ideal way to avoid them is by thinning the gaps, cut or remove large grass and weeds around the house.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other arthropods including water beetle, or atlas beetle.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Ground Beetle coloring pages.