Bug FAQCalleida viridipennis
Calleida viridipennis · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Carabidae
Calleida viridipennis is a carabid beetle about 10 mm long with a green-black metallic shell, a trapezoidal head and large eyes. It lives in open forests and swamps across North America, from southwestern New York through the central United States to eastern Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It has a green-black metallic exoskeleton, a trapezoidal head shape, and large eyes.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults average about 10 mm in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It prefers open forests and swamps, often residing under bark.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It preys on the larvae of the tortoise beetle Hemisphaerota cyanea and on the fruit-tree leafroller caterpillar Archipis argyrospila. It also consumes both animal and plant material.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
It breeds in spring, producing summer larvae and overwintering as adults.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Overwintering coincides with the activity period of its prey.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its distribution spans North America from southwestern New York through the central US to eastern Mexico. Overall, it ranges from northern to southern America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 19 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does Calleida viridipennis eat?
It feeds on the larvae of the tortoise beetle Hemisphaerota cyanea and on the fruit-tree leafroller caterpillar Archipis argyrospila, as well as other animal and plant matter.
Source: Wikipedia
When does Calleida viridipennis reproduce?
It is a spring breeder, producing larvae that develop in summer and the adults overwinter.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Carabidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calleida_viridipennis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.