Bug FAQBronze Ground Beetle
Carabus nemoralis · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Carabidae
Also called: European Ground Beetle, Wood Ground-beetle
The bronze ground beetle is 20 to 25 mm long and lives in many habitats across Great Britain. It is native to Europe but has been introduced and is spreading in North America. Both adults and larvae are active year-round, with adults breeding in spring and larvae hunting slugs and annelids in early summer.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Carabus nemoralis, known as the bronze carabid, is a ground beetle.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
It measures about 20 to 25 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Adults are found throughout the year in many habitats in Great Britain.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults prey on the pest slug Deroceras reticulatum and its eggs. Larvae hunt annelids and slugs during early summer.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are present all year round.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults can be found throughout the year.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to Europe and has been introduced to North America where it is expanding its range.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 28 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Washington, Wisconsin, Oregon, Michigan, Maine, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in North America; introduced in Canada; introduced in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do bronze ground beetles eat?
Adults eat the slug Deroceras reticulatum and its eggs, while larvae hunt annelids and other slugs.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find bronze ground beetles?
They are found year-round in many habitats across Great Britain and are also spreading in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Are bronze ground beetles native to my area?
They are native to Europe but have been introduced and are expanding their range in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
When do bronze ground beetles breed?
They have a single breeding period in spring, with eggs hatching in the autumn of the same year.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Carabidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carabus_nemoralis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.