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''Calosoma'' is a genus of large
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 ...
s 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 bright metallic coloration. They produce a foul-smelling spray from
gland In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...
s near the tip of the abdomen. They are recognizable due to their large
thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...
, which is almost the size of their abdomen and much wider than their head.Powell & Hogue (1979), California Insects. p. 262.


History

In 1905, ''
Calosoma sycophanta ''Calosoma sycophanta'', the forest caterpillar hunter, is a species of ground beetle belonging to the family Carabidae. Subspecies and varietas * ''Calosoma sycophanta var. severum'' Chaudoir, 1850 * ''Calosoma sycophanta var. nigrocyaneum'' L ...
'' was imported to
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
for control of the gypsy moth. The species is a voracious consumer of caterpillars during both its larval stage and as an adult, as are other species in the genus. For this reason, they are generally considered beneficial insects. Several species of this beetle, most notably the black calosoma (''Calosoma semilaeve'') are especially common in the
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
area.


See also

*
List of Calosoma species This is a list of 188 species in the genus ''Calosoma'', caterpillar hunters. ''Calosoma'' species * '' Calosoma abbreviatum'' Chaudoir, 1869 * '' Calosoma abyssinicum'' Gestro, 1880 * '' Calosoma aethiopicum'' Breuning, 1928 * '' Calosoma aethi ...


References

* Friedrich Weber 1801: ''Obs. Ent''., 20; Fabricius 1801, ''Syst. Eleuth''., 1: 211.
Ground beetles of the genus ''Calosoma'' (Carabidae): atlas of beetles of Russia


* * Powell & Hogue (1979), California Insects. p. 262.


External links

* *

Susan Mahr,University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Forest Caterpillar Hunter
BioLib.cz. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1317479 Calosoma Carabidae genera Insects used as insect pest control agents