Insect of the Week (21 May, 2018) - Ground beetles: cutworm natural enemies

 

This week's Insect of the Week is a large group of insects called ground beetles, also known as carabid beetles. Many species feed on cutworms as well as other pests.

Almost 400 different species of ground beetles occur on the Prairies, ranging in size from just a few millimetres to more than 2 centimetres. A field may contain 50 or more species, with densities ranging up to 10 beetles per square meter.

Ground beetles are characterized with long threadlike antennae, have a body that is flattened top-to-bottom, and have strong legs designed for running, large eyes, and obvious jaws (mandibles). Smaller ground beetle species can be important predators of cutworm eggs. Larger species attack and kill fully-grown cutworm larvae.

With all the work they do protecting your crop, ground beetles are real @FieldHeroes.

Find out more about ground beetles at the Insect of the Week page!



Adult Carabus nemoralis attacking a bertha armyworm caterpillar. 

Photocredit - Vincent Hervet, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Species of ground beetles common in agricultural fields on the Prairies. 

From left to right: Bembidion quadrimaculatum, Agonum cupreum, 

Pterostichus melanarius, Calosoma calidum. 

Photocredit - Henri Goulet (retired), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

For a detailed review of ground beetle research, biology, distribution, habitat, diet, etc., see Chapter 1: Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of the Prairie Grasslands of Canada.

**NEW - Don't forget there's a new cutworm identification manual you can download from the Cutworm Field Guide page - NEW**