Bug FAQTwo-ridged False Snail-eating Beetle
Sphaeroderus bicarinatus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Carabidae
The two-ridged false snail-eating beetle (Sphaeroderus bicarinatus) is a ground beetle in the family Carabidae that lives in forests near water or the seashore in the southeastern United States. Adults have short wings, are mostly nocturnal, and they prey on snails, caterpillars and pupae.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The two-ridged false snail-eating beetle, Sphaeroderus bicarinatus, belongs to the ground-beetle family Carabidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults have short wings and are mostly active at night.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives in coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests near streams, rivers, brooks, or the seashore.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It hunts and eats snails as well as caterpillars and pupae of butterflies and moths.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
In North America it is found in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 4 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia.
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 this beetle eat?
It preys on snails, as well as Lepidoptera caterpillars and their pupae.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Carabidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphaeroderus_bicarinatus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.