''Calosoma scrutator'', also known as the fiery searcher and caterpillar hunter, is a species of

ground beetle Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it i ...

belonging to the genus ''

Calosoma ''Calosoma'' is a genus of large ground beetles that occur primarily throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and are referred to as caterpillar hunters or caterpillar searchers. Many of the 167 species are largely or entirely black, but some have ...

'', subgenus '' Acalosoma''. This beetle can be as large as long. The distribution of this species is relatively widespread, but it is nonetheless uncommon in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. The adult beetle is known to excrete a foul-smelling oil when it is handled. The oil has been described as smelling similar to rotten milk or rancid olive oil.''C. scrutator'' on zipcodezoo.com
/ref>

References

External links

*
Calosoma scrutator on bugguide.net
on the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

website * scrutator Beetles described in 1781 Beetles of North America Articles containing video clips {{Calosoma-stub