I know this is a beetle...and I know there are many different varieties of beetles. What I would like to know..if possible...is why we have such an infestation of them this year? Digging in the soil ...in my tropical garden...they appear by the thousands!! We have also been getting them in the house! They are very hard shelled...and they bite/pinch? Woke up with one biting below my eyebrow one night!! NOT a good feeling!!! Any help??????
These are ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). This is an extremely large and diverse family, the vast majority of which (like your specimens) are general predators on other small arthropods and thus usually considered beneficial, As in most large families, there are exceptions, a few species are garden/agricultural pests by feeding on seeds. Being bitten by one without first having picked it up and stressing it seems highly unusual to say the least! As I have never encountered this behavior before, I would be interested in learning of any other instances.
Well, I was sound asleep and woke up with this beetle on my face, either biting or pinching...so don't think I stressed him in any way?
Any ideas why there would be so many of them? We always see a few around, but nothing like we have seen this year? Might it be because we have been in a drought??? I am at a loss as to why they are everywhere around here?
