Blue ground beetle (Carabus intricatus)

Species information

Videos and images

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Threats

As much still remains to be discovered about the beetle's full life cycle, the current theory for its decline suggests that loss of appropriate woodland conditions, over-vegetation of the woodland floor and lack of suitable grazing may have contributed to its rarity.

Conservation

The blue ground beetle is listed in the UK Biodiversity Action Plans (UKBAPs), and has been included in English Nature's Species Recovery Programme (SRP). Dartmoor National Park, English Nature's joint lead partner working on this species, has commissioned a number of annual reports to discover more about this rare beetle, particularly about the larval stage of its life cycle.

Future work aims to choose a number of suitable sites close to existing populations, and it may prove possible to re-introduce beetles to these sites. Captive breeding is being used to discover more about the beetle's larval stage.