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Snail Eating Beetle I'm pretty clueless on this one. I'll probably turn to the BugGuide for an ID Geotagged,Narrow-collared Snail-eating Beetle,Scaphinotus angusticollis,United States Click/tap to enlarge PromotedSpecies introCountry intro

Snail Eating Beetle

I'm pretty clueless on this one. I'll probably turn to the BugGuide for an ID

    comments (5)

  1. Black and six legs, always a challenge :) Posted 10 years ago
  2. It is some kind of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae). From this angle I am not sure if it is this snail-killer carabid, Scaphinotus angusticollis, but it looks like a good match.
    http://www.dereilanatureinn.ca/woodlands/insect-mo/july2009.htm
    http://bugguide.net/node/view/234605/bgimage
    Posted 10 years ago
    1. Nice - I have a top down view that's a dead on match. I poked through the beetles on bug guide, but there are so many I wasn't having a whole lot of luck. I'd say you nailed it. I guess we were fortunate to see it - the description says usually nocturnal, but the really heavy rain we had a few hours earlier may have forced him from his hiding place. Posted 10 years ago, modified 10 years ago
      1. Nice teamwork you two! This article sheds some light on its nocturnal behavior:
        http://crawford.tardigrade.net/bugs/BugofMonth29.html
        Posted 10 years ago
        1. Sounds like I should have brought him home to protect my green beans :P. I had a huge slug population munching on them this year. Posted 10 years ago

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Scaphinotus angusticollis is one of the more distinctive and attractive of the carabids, or ground beetles. It is common in forests, parks and gardens. The narrow head is an adaptation to eating snails from the shell. Like many ground beetles, Scaphinotus is flightless. In fact, the hind wings are practically nonexistent.

Similar species: Beetles
Species identified by Ferdy Christant
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By morpheme

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Uploaded Nov 24, 2014. Captured Nov 23, 2014 12:18 in 11838 Tilley Road Southwest, Olympia, WA 98512, USA.
  • X-E1
  • f/1.0
  • 1/125s
  • ISO800
  • 50mm