Calosoma

Fiery Searchers on the Hunt

One of my all-time favorite beetles is beginning to showing-up on trees and shrubs in southwest Ohio.  This is the time of the year when populations of many soft-bodied insects such as caterpillars and sawfly larvae begin to rise.  It's not coincidental that this is also the time of the year when Fiery Searcher Caterpillar Hunters (Calosoma scrutator) begin to appear.  This colorful predacious beetle feasts on free-range caterpillar meat as well as on any other soft-bodied insect that it can clamp its mandibles on.  Indeed, this beetle is considered one of the more significant...

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Authors
Joe Boggs