Calosoma inquisitor (Linnaeus, 1758)

Taxonomy

  • Adephaga
  • Carabidae
  • Calosoma
  • Calosoma inquisitor

Images

Source: Roger Key
Source: Lech Borowiec

Description

Size: 16-22mm
Basic colour: Dark metallic bronze with green or purple reflections.
Pattern colour: Green or purple reflections especially strong beneath and at the edges of the elytra and pronotum.
Pronotoum: Transverse, with raised side borders only in front half. Elytra with 15 striae and strong cross-striation, given a rectangular pattern; fourth, eighth and twelfth intervals with 8-10 strong setiferous punctures.
Leg colour: Black.

Adults are arboreal and feed on Lepidopteran larvae.

Biology

Status: Local but widely distributed from southern England through mid-Wales and Cumbria to Scotland.
UKBAP Species: Yes
Habitat: Old oak woodland.
Food: Caterpillar prey, such as Tortrix species.

Articles

  • (2014), Calosoma inquisitor (Linnaeus) (Carabidae) in Scotland The Coleopterist 23(2):54

  • (2005), A second Scottish site for Calosoma inquisitor (Linnaeus) (Carabidae) The Coleopterist 14(1):22

Distribution (may take a minute to appear)

Distribution Map