Bug FAQPterostichus lama
Pterostichus lama · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Carabidae
Adults are large, measuring about 15 to 29 mm long. They are black, flightless beetles with strong mandibles. The giant woodland ground beetle lives in North America. They feed on termites and ants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
They are black, flightless beetles with strong mandibles.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults are large, measuring about 15 to 29 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
They eat termites and ants.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The giant woodland ground beetle lives in North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 5 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Carabidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterostichus_lama
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 2026-10-23.